When I'm Gone, Promise You'll Keep Singing
by LittleMissAverage
Summary: Miku will sing no more. After her hospitalization, everyone is affected, including Kaito, who's determined to save her, Meiko, who's trying to keep both Kaito and herself together, and Rin, who's slowly losing it due to the stress and grief. Isn't there any way to save their beloved idol? (please click for full summary :3)
1. Chapter 1

**Full summary:**

 **Miku, the bright and bubbly girl everyone loves, will sing no more. Having been hospitalized with a terminal illness, she's already lost her vision, and now she's slowly losing the ability to speak with the voice that sang the music she treasured so much. But it's not just Miku that's been affected by the illness. Kaito, Miku's beloved step-brother, is doing everything he can to find a way to somehow save his precious little sister. Meiko, Kaito's closest and longest friend, is trying to keep Kaito from falling into a pit of despair, all while drinking away her own depression when she's alone at night. Rin, Miku's best friend ever since childhood, is slowly going crazy under the stress and grief, and begins to see a boy reflected in the mirror every time she looks at it named Len. Everyone seems to be preparing themselves for Miku's ultimate demise. But can't anyone save her?**

* * *

Chapter One

A light breeze drifted through the open window, causing the white curtains to flutter gently before settling back into place. Pale sunlight flooded the room with a warm glow, but still the plain white of everything seemed cold and unwelcoming. Despite it being late August, Kaito got shivers just from being here.

"I'm back," he called as he entered the room and took a seat in the chair next to the bed.

Miku turned her head toward him and smiled warmly. "Good morning! Er... or is it afternoon?"

"It's afternoon," Kaito replied.

"Right," Miku chuckled a bit sheepishly. "I never can tell anymore. Guess I've been here too long, huh?"

Kaito didn't feel like pointing out the fact that she couldn't tell because she was blind now, so he merely sighed and simply responded with, "Yeah, you've certainly been here too long."

"Hey, don't sound so sad, Kaito! Things could be worse," Miku said in an attempt to reassure him.

"Like how?" Kaito asked, not at all convinced that things could get any worse.

"Well, I could be dead."

Kaito knew this was meant as a joke, a very crude one at that, but it didn't make him feel any better. Then again, Miku was known for her strange sense of humor. Kaito sighed again and leaned back in his chair, observing the surprisingly cheerful face of his little sister. Technically, they were only related in the sense that a few years ago Kaito's mother married Miku's father after both suffered a divorce with their previous partners, but to Kaito they might as well have been born siblings from the start. Miku was a year younger than he was, and she was always a bundle of energy and joy. Her favorite thing to do was sing, and people would always be entranced by her voice whenever she did. She loved it so much that she sang her heart out every day. Well, she used to, anyway. Kaito couldn't help but wonder if he would ever get to hear Miku sing again.

"You're thinking about depressing things again, aren't you?" Miku pouted and puffed her cheeks out in annoyance.

"How can you tell?" Kaito asked, slightly surprised.

"Because I know you! You've been way too quiet for too long, so you must be thinking about sad things," Miku answered.

For someone who couldn't see anything, she was oddly observant.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I mean, everyone's been thinking about sad things lately, so you can't really blame me, can you?" Kaito pointed out.

Miku gave a thoughtful hum and began fiddling with her bed sheets. She was silent for a moment, before she responded slowly. "Rin comes to visit me sometimes... but every time she does she ends up crying and I don't know what to do about it. What with my condition becoming steadily worse and all, I can't exactly do much to reassure her. All I can do is listen to her sob uncontrollably, and it's absolutely heartbreaking."

Kaito knew about the blonde girl's visits. Rin had been best friends with Miku for the majority of her life, and she seemed to not be able to handle the fact that Miku was so close to dying. Rin's own health had been deteriorating ever since Miku was admitted into the hospital, and the young girl was generally advised against visits. Still, Rin would come occasionally to see her friend, only to end up in tears every time. She clearly wasn't taking it well.

"I'm sure she'll get better soon. She's just not used to seeing you like this, that's all," Kaito stated, but honestly he was just telling Miku what she wanted to hear. It wouldn't be any good to have Miku become depressed when everyone else already was. That would only make things worse.

"I hope so..." Miku trailed off.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a moment later one of the many doctors at the hospital entered the room.

"I'm sorry to cut your visit short, but Ms. Hatsune has some testing to do now," she informed them.

"That's fine," Kaito responded as he stood up from his seat. He looked over at Miku to say a quick goodbye. "I'll be back tomorrow, like usual. Good luck on your test."

"You say that like I'm at school," Miku laughed.

Kaito smiled faintly. "Yeah, I guess so. See you later, Miku."

"See ya!" Miku chirped in response with her typical bright smile.

The two of them never really said the word "goodbye". Kaito supposed it was because "goodbye" seemed a lot more definite than "see you later", and they both felt more comfortable with that in mind. Kaito left Miku's room and made his way through the hospital, heading toward the exit. When he stepped outside, he saw Meiko standing a little ways away, most likely waiting for him as she sometimes did. It didn't take long for her to notice him, and once she did she walked over with a small, friendly smile.

"How was it?" Meiko asked.

"Fine," Kaito replied. It was the standard question, and that was the standard response.

"No news on her condition?" Meiko questioned.

"Nothing, other than the fact that she has testing again today," Kaito answered.

"I see..." Meiko trailed off thoughtfully.

There was a moment of silence, but it made Kaito uncomfortable, so he decided to break it with whatever the first thing on his mind was.

"Why don't you ever wait inside? It's much cooler in there," Kaito inquired, noticing the summer heat was already causing him to sweat.

"I don't really like hospitals, to be honest with you. I'd prefer just to stand out here," Meiko responded.

Kaito gave a small shrug. "Whatever floats your boat."

"Hey, I know! Since it's so hot out, why don't we go get some ice cream? You must be hungry, right?" Meiko suggested.

Kaito honestly didn't feel like eating anything, but he knew Meiko was just trying to cheer him up, so he responded with a simple, "Sure."

Before this whole mess had started, Kaito loved ice cream and would jump at the chance to get some. Meiko, having been his closest friend for who-knows-how-long, knew this of course, so it made sense that she'd think this would cheer him up. But, honestly, Kaito didn't particularly care about stuff like that anymore. He supposed indifference was his coping method.

The two friends began walking to a nearby ice cream parlor. Once they arrived, they each ordered an ice cream cone, Meiko with chocolate and Kaito with vanilla. Apparently, neither of them felt like getting very creative with their flavors. As they headed back to Kaito's home, they ate their frozen snacks in silence. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence like before at the hospital, it just seemed like two people who didn't have anything to say but were fine with each other's company. It didn't take them long to reach Kaito's home, seeing as it wasn't too far away from the hospital.

Kaito lived alone in a small, one-person apartment. He never said so, but he actually moved out here shortly after Miku was admitted into the hospital simply to be closer to his sister. Of course, Meiko figured as much, but she didn't say anything. Sometimes, when Kaito looked especially distressed, Meiko would stay the night and keep him company to make sure he didn't do anything that could potentially hurt him or others. In a way, Meiko had become his guardian of sorts ever since Miku's illness developed. Kaito wondered if this was how Meiko coped with things, seeing as how she had never been this patient and supportive before.

"Make yourself at home," Kaito stated while unlocking the door and stepping inside, shortly followed by Meiko.

"One of these days, you really do have to clean up this place," Meiko pointed out as she looked around the room, which was littered with trash and dirty laundry.

"Not like I ever really have time," Kaito remarked a little bitterly.

Whenever he wasn't visiting Miku at the hospital, he was working to pay for her medical bills. Of course, the teal-haired girl had no clue just how many hours Kaito was putting in to make sure she could continue with treatment, but that was for the best. Kaito knew if she found out just how hard he had been working, she'd insist he relax a little and take a break.

"Then I'll help you," Meiko replied firmly, tossing aside a T-shirt that had been carelessly left on the couch so she could sit down.

Kaito sighed and took a seat as well, though he didn't bother to move anything. "Fine, fine, I'll find some time to clean."

"Hmm... When's your next shift at work?" Meiko asked.

Kaito looked over at her, not understanding why she was asking him this, but he replied anyway. "In about an hour. Why?"

Suddenly, Meiko stood up and clapped her hands together once, turning to face Kaito with a determined look in her eyes. "Then let's get cleaning!"

* * *

 **A/N: Apparently, when it's 5 in the morning and I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep I come up with depressing story ideas. I wonder why... Anyway, I've never really written a Vocaloid fanfic before, so I'm kind of excited about this. Please tell me what you think so far (even though it's only the first chapter)! :3**

 **Have a nice day/night/whatever~**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Rin stared blankly out at the scenery passing before her. Now that it was almost September, she was returning to school. This year she would be starting high school at the same school Miku had gone to a year ago before she developed her illness. Thinking about her friend caused a lump to grow in Rin's throat, but she tried to push it down the best she could to avoid crying on the bus in front of her peers. Lately, she'd been having a hard time controlling her emotions, which wasn't good now that summer vacation was over. She just hoped she didn't end up sobbing in the middle of class one day.

The bus pulled up to the school, and kids began pushing and shoving each other to get off first. Rin merely continued sitting in her seat, watching them laugh as they pushed one another. _How annoying_ , Rin thought to herself with a scowl. Once practically everyone else had gotten off the bus, Rin stood up and walked out onto the school grounds. It looked like any typical high school, nothing particularly worth noting nor special about the tall building that stretched out before her. Rin hefted her bag higher onto her shoulder with a huff before reluctantly making her way inside. The schedule she had been sent in the mail was folded up in her pocket, but she didn't need it to find her homeroom. It was class 1-C, she remembered as she made her way through the halls.

All around her, students were laughing and talking with one another, and Rin couldn't help but be reminded of when she and Miku had done stuff like that. The memories made her feel sick to her stomach, and Rin forced herself to push those thoughts from her mind for the time being. She couldn't stand to think about Miku with how things were, but she could never forgive herself if she forgot about her either. Rin wondered if it was even possible to forget about Miku, seeing as how she'd known the girl for so long. Despite being two years younger than her, Rin had somehow managed to befriend the teal-haired girl when they were both still in pre-school. Ever since then, they'd been inseparable.

After wandering around for a little bit, Rin found the door marked "1-C" and went inside. There were already quite a few students seated at various places around the room, some conversing with each other while others readied themselves for their first class of the new school year. Rin opted for a desk in the back, and once she was seated she focused her attention on getting out her supplies. Though, this didn't take nearly as long as she had expected, and Rin soon found herself with extra time and nothing to do. With a sigh, she decided to observe her classmates for the time being.

At the front of the class, a group of around five students or so was chatting amongst themselves. They looked fairly well-dressed, especially compared to Rin's lazy outfit of a worn-out hoodie and jeans, and one girl in particular with curly red pigtails was doing an obnoxious, stuck-up sounding laugh. Rin could already tell those were going to be the "popular kids". Having no interest in them whatsoever, the blonde-haired girl turned her attention to a different group of people who were gathered in the middle of the classroom to the far right. They were having a small, idle conversation that seemed pleasant enough. All the students in that group looked fairly average, and Rin concluded they were going to be the kind of people that would ignore her and she would ignore them. After all, Rin was the kind of person who prefered to stand off to the side or blend into the background. She wasn't always like that, though; in fact, she used to be the exact opposite before Miku's hospitalization. The depression had just simply caused her to adopt a more anti-social lifestyle.

There was only one other person in the room who was secluded like Rin. A girl with long, pale pink hair that looked almost white was sitting at the desk by the window, which she was staring out silently. Her desk was two places away from Rin's, with the desk in between them currently empty. Normally, Rin would've been curious as to why this girl was sitting off by herself, but currently she could've care less. If she was fine with being alone, then naturally that girl could be too. Rin once again had nothing to do as she concluded her class observation, and she began to mindlessly doodle on a sheet of paper she had gotten out. Not too long afterwards, the bell signaling the beginning of the school day rang, and their teacher entered the room.

"Good morning, class. How are all of you today?" she greeted them with a friendly smile.

A chorus of "good"s came as the reply, and the teacher, a mature looking woman with long, pink hair, nodded.

"That's good. My name is Luka Megurine, and I'll be you're teacher this year. I hope we all can work together and have a very successful year," Luka said warmly.

The class once again gave a chorus of replies, then Luka continued.

"Alright then. I think a good place to start would be introductions, so who wants to go first?" she questioned while looking around the classroom.

The red-haired girl sitting in the front raised her hand, earning a smile from Luka.

"Go ahead," Luka gave her permission, and the girl stood up from her seat.

She turned around to face the class with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Hi, everyone! My name's Teto Kasane, it's nice to meet you!"

There were a few murmurs of "nice to meet you too", then the girl, Teto, sat back down. One by one, people began introducing themselves. Rin didn't pay attention to hardly any of the introductions, but she managed to catch a few names of the students who looked interesting. Miki was the girl with a strangely large red ahoge, Yukari wore a jacket with bunny ears, and Lapis had something about her that reminded Rin a little bit of Miku. Not much, though. Finally, it got to the point where the only people who hadn't introduced themselves were Rin and the loner girl by the window, who hadn't even moved since Rin last looked at her.

"Why don't you go next?" Luka suggested, looking at the girl.

The girl finally veered her gaze away from the window, revealing dark blue eyes that blinked up at the teacher as if in a daze. After a moment, the girl slowly got to her feet.

"My name is IA," she introduced herself plainly while looking straight ahead of her.

"Do you have a last name?" Luka asked.

IA shook her head before sitting back down. A few quiet murmurs started up between the students at the girl's strange behavior. The way she spoke, and even her expression, was so monotone it was almost lifeless. Rin couldn't help but wonder a bit about IA herself.

"What about you?" Luka directed her gaze at Rin now as she said this.

Rin sighed and stood up, choosing to look at the teacher instead of her classmates as she introduced herself. "I'm Rin Kagamine."

Having said that, she sat down quickly and returned to being silent.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all," Luka smiled at the class once again.

She didn't seem to be acknowledging Rin's or IA's strange behavior, and instead moved on with the rest of the class. The lesson was relatively simple, seeing as how it was the first day, and Rin found herself zoning out for the majority of it. Before she knew it, it was already time for lunch. Most of the students exited the classroom, opting to eat in the lunchroom instead, but there were a few like Rin who stayed at their desks. The few remainders all pulled neatly-made bentos out of their bags, but Rin didn't even budge. She hadn't packed a lunch like they had, but it didn't matter since she wasn't hungry.

"Ms. Kagamine? Aren't you going to eat?" Luka asked her young student confusedly.

"Not hungry," Rin replied bluntly.

Luka frowned at the blonde-haired girl. "You can't go the whole day without eating. It's not good for you."

"I do it all the time. So what?" Rin scoffed and sent her teacher a look as if to say "what are you going to do about it?"

Luka was a bit taken aback by this, but soon she regained her composure and put on a firm look. "Ms. Kagamine, I advise you to go to the cafeteria and get food right now. Unless you want to get into trouble on your first day."

Rin leaned her chin against her propped up hand with a bored expression. "Go ahead, I don't care. What are you going to punish me for? Not being hungry?"

Luka was silent for a moment, before she walked back over to her desk and sent a stern look toward Rin. "If you're going to act like this, then I can already tell we're going to be having quite a few problems."

* * *

 **A/N: Hi everyone! First of all, I just want to say thanks for all the support I received on the first chapter, it really means a lot to me :) Secondly, I've decided to alternate the points of view between Kaito and Rin, just to see different people's perspective on the same issues and to better illustrate their daily lives. I may write from the focus of other characters later on, but I haven't decided yet. Also, while searching around YouTube for some good Vocaloid songs to listen to while writing this, I came across a few that I felt really suit this story. I really suggest you listen to them w**

 **The songs are:**

 **Koe wo Kikasete (Let Me Hear Your Voice) (this song I feel would be sung from Miku to Kaito)**

 **Memories (this one suits well with Rin and her perspective)**

 **and**

 **From a person who will die in 3 days (this one is very bittersweet, and really matches with how Miku feels in the story)**

 **All of them are sung by Miku, and you can find English subbed versions of them on YouTube. Anyway, please continue telling me what you think! I can only approve from what I hear from you, and I love hearing what people have to say about my stories.**

 **Have a nice day/night/whatever~!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Rin stepped off of the bus, glad that the first day was over. She figured the worst was out of the way, now all she had to do was survive the rest of the year. Survive. The word made Rin stop in her tracks. Right now, Miku was trying her hardest to survive in that hospital, and Rin was wasting her life by going through the days in a depressed daze. _If only I was the one with the illness_ , Rin thought, clenching her fists at her sides as tears pricked at her eyes. _Miku should be the one with this worthless life, not me. For her time to be so short-lived... it's more than cruel!_ Unable to help it, Rin began crying on the street. Passerbys sent her odd looks, some with a hint of concern or pity, but Rin paid absolutely no attention to them. They might as well have not been there at all.

She felt helpless, like a child. There was nothing she could do to help Miku, and she seemed to only burden her more with her visits. Even the doctors at the hospital had told her that her crying was stressing Miku out. Rin felt utterly worthless. What good was she if she couldn't even support her best friend in her time of need? Still, she selfishly wanted to see Miku, even though she knew that she would end up sobbing the moment she laid her eyes on the frail body that belonged to someone who used to be so strong. Miku was always acting like a big sister for Rin, guiding her and helping her through trouble, sometimes even scolding her for doing things that were bad. Rin almost felt like laughing as she thought about how much Miku would scold her right now for acting like such a wimp. Almost.

Rin ran the rest of the way home, slamming the door loudly behind her as she launched herself at the couch in her living room. She buried her face in the cushions and continued to cry until her eyes had practically swollen shut. For a long while, Rin laid motionless in the silence, but she eventually sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her vision was blurry from the leftover tears, yet she didn't care. She didn't need to see anything anyway. Tentatively, Rin placed her hands over her puffy eyes. Darkness enveloped her vision, and she wondered to herself is this was what it was like for Miku every day. Not being able to see a thing, even with your eyes open... What a scary thing. A few seconds passed before Rin lowered her hands and glanced over at the clock on the wall.

"Mom won't be home for at least an hour..." she mumbled to herself.

Rin clambered to her feet and headed toward the bathroom to wash her face. It felt sticky and uncomfortable from all the tears, and she wanted to wash away the feeling as soon as possible. Also, she didn't feel like explaining to her mother why she had been crying again. Rin turned on the light in the bathroom and went over to the sink before turning on the water. She splashed handfuls of water onto her face, rubbing at her cheeks until they were red. The cold liquid felt good on her face, and Rin continued splashing handfuls onto her cheeks even after she was sure the tear stains were gone. Once she was satisfied, she reached over and grabbed a small hand-towel from the shelf to her left. Rin dried the excess water from her face, then tossed the towel lazily into the dirty laundry hamper that sat in the corner of the room.

Rin glanced up at the mirror in front of her to see if all traces of her last crying fit were gone, but what she saw was definitely not herself reflected in the mirror. Instead, a boy who looked extremely similar to Rin was staring back at her through the glass. Rin screamed and stumbled backwards, resulting in her tripping over her own feet in the small, enclosed area and hitting her head on the wall. Rin winced as she clutched the back of her head, which throbbed painfully from the impact. Then, remembering about what had caused her to hit her head in the first place, she quickly looked back at the mirror. Though, all she saw was her own face gazing back at her, with an expression that was a mixture of pain and fear. Rin's breathing slowed to a more regular pace once she realized that she was just imagining things, but her heart was still pounding. What had caused her to see that boy in the mirror? Was it just a trick of the light, maybe from water that had still been in her eyelashes and affected her vision? That seemed like a logical enough explanation.

"Rin? I'm home!" the familiar voice of her mother called.

Rin tore her gaze away from the mirror and instead focused on the doorway in surprise. She couldn't see to the living room from here, but she could hear her mother's footsteps as they approached the bathroom. Rin, having left the door to the bathroom open since she didn't see a point in closing it when she was alone, merely waited for her mother to arrive while she tried to regain control of her heartbeat.

"Rin, honey, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost," Rin's mother frowned once she saw her daughter, who was crouched down in the bathroom with her hands clutching her head.

"Oh... I just hit my head, that's all," Rin said slowly.

"Are you alright?" her mother asked.

Rin nodded, but instantly regretted it when a new burst of pain ran through the back of her head. Luckily, she managed to keep herself from wincing.

"Hey, Mom, aren't you home kind of early?" Rin pointed out.

"Hmm?" her mother seemed confused for a moment, then she smiled. "Oh, yeah, I am. Since we weren't as busy today, I managed to finish all my work early, and my boss let me go home. Isn't that nice?"

"Yeah," Rin responded.

Her mother, a kind yet serious woman named Lily, worked for a local business firm. Over the years that she had worked there, it had grown steadily into a successful business, meaning Lily would often have to work long hours to complete her work. Because of this, it wasn't uncommon for Rin to have dinner by herself. It wasn't all that bad, though. Honestly, Rin didn't mind cooking, as it meant she could eat all of her favorite meals whenever she wanted. And, lately, she didn't mind being alone either.

"Since I'm finally home in time to make you dinner, what do you want?" Lily asked with a smile.

Rin finally lowered her hands from her head and looked away. "Anything will do."

"Come on, there has to be something you want. It can be anything, just name it," Lily continued to prompt her daughter.

"There isn't really anything I want in particular," Rin answered.

"I see..." Lily trailed off.

She wanted to do something, anything, to cheer up her daughter. Seeing Rin so depressed all the time was heartbreaking, but with how demanding work was, she hardly had the chance to see Rin. She really did feel bad.

"Listen, Rin... about Miku..."

Lily was silenced by a pointed look from Rin. It was the first time her daughter had looked at her so coldly, and Lily couldn't help but be taken aback by this.

"I don't want to hear it," Rin said flatly.

"A-Alright... Well, I guess I'll go make dinner now," Lily stated before leaving and heading toward the kitchen.

Once her mother was gone, Rin stood up and decided she would go to her room until it was time for dinner. Though, as she neared the exit, she stopped in her tracks and her hand hovered over the light switch. Unable to help herself, Rin glanced back at the mirror one last time before turning off the light.

* * *

 **A/N: And another chapter is up! I'm going to (hopefully) keep updates fairly frequent, with no more than a week in between them. Lots of people have been supporting this story, and I'm so thankful for that. Really, you guys are amazing, I love you all so much! I hope to continue to hear your opinions about this story in the future so that I can keep improving it. I'm actually really looking forward to writing this story, and I hope all of you are looking forward to reading it too :)**

 **As always, have a nice day/night/whatever~**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

By the time Kaito woke up, it was already nearly one o' clock. This didn't surprise him, considering he had had a difficult time sleeping last night, and he was exhausted from work. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head with a small groan, feeling his back give a satisfying pop. Through his bleary vision, he could see that his room was a lot cleaner than usual, and it took him a moment to remember that Meiko had helped him clean up yesterday. Honestly, he would've just left it like that if she hadn't been so adament about it.

With a sigh, he stood up and headed towards the kitchen for a light breakfast. He never ate more than a piece of toast or a small bowl of cereal, which would probably explain why he was so skinny. Kaito remembered someone at work commenting about how his weight was unhealthy, but he didn't really care. There were more important things to worry about for the time being, of course. While thinking about this, he placed a piece of bread in the toaster and leaned against the counter to wait. Had today been the way things were a year ago, he would've been preparing breakfast for both him and Miku, before seeing her off to school. It was that time of year again, wasn't it?

Now that he thought about it, Rin was starting high school this year. He couldn't help but feel a little concerned for the girl; after all, things were already bad enough as is, but school would just add more stress to Rin's life. Kaito wasn't particularly close to the girl, they only ever really talked whenever Miku had Rin stay for dinner at their house, but she had been in Miku's life long enough to be practically family anyways. Kaito knew that Miku treasured Rin like a sister, and likewise for the blonde girl, so it wouldn't surprise him if Miku worried about Rin going to school. That is, if she even knew that school had started yet.

The sound of the toast being done brought Kaito out of his thoughts. He placed the toast on a plate and spread a light layer of butter on it, before beginning to nibble absently on the bread. He figured once he was done, he would get dressed and head over to the hospital to visit Miku. He honestly didn't have anything else to do before his next shift at work, but even if he did he would go to see her anyway. Kaito just wanted to check on her and make sure she was okay, even if there was not much else he could do. Kaito finished up his breakfast and headed back to his bedroom, preparing to start another day.

* * *

The hospital was the same as always, with that same blank whiteness and perfect cleanliness that couldn't help but feel artificial. Kaito entered Miku's room to see the girl looking the same as ever: sitting in bed and staring out the window even though she couldn't see a thing.

"Hey, Miku," Kaito greeted, taking a seat in the chair beside her.

Miku turned her head toward him with a soft smile. "Hi, Kaito. How are you?"

"I should be asking you that," Kaito pointed out.

Miku hummed thoughtfully. "I guess so... but you could still answer my question."

Kaito gave a faint sigh and leaned back in his seat. "I suppose I'm as fine as I can be."

"You really should lighten up a bit, you know?" Miku pouted a bit childishly.

Kaito gave a low hum, but no other response. He didn't think he could "lighten up" even if he tried. Just then, the door to the room opened. Kaito turned around in his chair, expecting to see a doctor standing in the doorway, but instead he saw Rin there. She looked a little nervous and was peering around the corner of the door like a timid little kid.

"Oh, Rin. I didn't expect to see you here," Kaito said simply.

Rin jumped slightly at being acknowledge, before she quietly closed the door and tentatively walked over to join Kaito by Miku's bedside.

"Well, it's been over a month since my last visit, so I..." Rin trailed off, her voice barely above a mumble.

"Rinny! It's nice to see you again! What have you been up to lately?" Miku asked cheerfully.

Rin seemed to wince slightly at being called by her childish nickname, as if hurt by it, but she didn't say anything against it. "Well, the first day of school was yesterday..."

"Man, I never thought I'd miss going to school," Miku commented with a small laugh, but something seemed oddly melancholic about it.

"I wish you could go in my place, then. It's so boring I feel like I'm gonna die," Rin muttered.

"But you've only been there for two days..." Miku seemed a little confused by this.

Kaito figured it would be best to just let the two girls talk alone, so he got to his feet and headed over to the door.

"Well, I'll just leave you two to it," he stated.

"Okay then," Miku responded, though she still looked a bit puzzled.

Kaito then exited the room and began wandering through the hospital's halls aimlessly. He still had some time to kill, and he wasn't quite sure what to do right now. He knew there was a cafeteria on the third floor, so he decided to stop by there despite not being hungry. At least it was a place he'd never been before. When he arrived, he saw that the cafeteria was actually rather large, and the smell of the food that wafted through the air was actually kind of nice. Not what he had expected, but no matter.

Kaito sat down at one of the nearby tables with a sigh and leaned his chin against his palm. There wasn't much to look at in this cafeteria, and there weren't even that many people there at the moment. He figured patients probably didn't even eat here all that often anyway. After all, if they could walk to the cafeteria just fine, why would they need to be in the hospital in the first place? People like Miku just had their food brought to them. Had the circumstances been any different, Kaito supposed that wouldn't be such a bad way to live.

"Kaito!"

Suddenly, Kaito was tackled by someone who had just shouted his name, causing him to nearly fall out of his seat. Kaito let out an exclamation of surprise as he looked down to see a girl with long, wavy blonde hair.

"H-Huh?" he stammered as he stared at her confusedly.

"Aw, come on, don't tell me you've forgotten about me!" the girl pouted as she looked up at him and puffed out her cheeks childishly.

"Wait a second... SeeU?" Kaito said slowly.

SeeU's face lit up and she sat back, finally releasing him from her vice-like grip. "So you do remember me! It's been so long that I wasn't sure!"

"It's kind of hard to forget someone like you," Kaito muttered.

SeeU had often hung out with Kaito and Meiko during their high school days. She was one of the most energetic people in the whole school, and it seemed that she hadn't changed much in that regard. Despite her hyper personality sometimes being too much to handle, the trio had actually been rather good friends. Though, after SeeU moved to a different city for a special college, they had gradually lost touch.

"What are you doing here?" Kaito questioned.

"I work here, duh," SeeU answered as if it were obvious, before gesturing to her outfit. "Can't you tell by my clothes?"

Kaito looked and, sure enough, saw that SeeU was wearing a doctor's uniform. This was surprising, considering SeeU wasn't exactly the type of person you'd expect to see working in a hospital.

"How did someone like you become a doctor?" Kaito questioned.

"Hard work and determination, like anyone else," SeeU replied matter-of-factly, ingoring the slightly offensive part of his comment.

"I see..." Kaito trailed off.

"So, what are you doing here?" SeeU asked curiously.

"Ah... Well, you know, Miku's been in this hospital for a little over a year now..." Kaito answered while looking around the cafeteria absently.

SeeU gasped. "No way! Has she really?!"

"You mean you work here and you didn't know?" Kaito raised an eyebrow questioningly at her.

"I work in the pediatrics department," SeeU stated simply.

"Ah, that makes sense," Kaito commented. That actually made a lot more sense than anything he could've come up with.

"Why has she been here so long? Was there an accident?" SeeU questioned, leaning forward in a mixture of interest and concern.

"She has a terminal illness," Kaito replied bluntly.

"That's awful... And she's such a nice girl too," SeeU frowned, thinking back to the few times she had met Miku.

"Yeah, it really sucks," Kaito sighed.

They were both silent for a moment, but it wasn't long before SeeU perked up and resumed her usual cheery demeanor.

"Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we go do something this weekend to help cheer you up?" SeeU suggested excitedly.

"Huh?" Kaito sent her a confused look.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, it'd be nice to just hang out like old times, y'know? Oh! And we should bring Meiko too! I've been dying to see her!" SeeU continued enthusiastically.

"I don't know..." Kaito trailed off in a disinterested tone.

"Come on, it'll be fun! Plus, you look super depressed. That's not healthy for you," SeeU persisted.

"But-"

"Oh, shoot! I have to get back to work now!" SeeU suddenly exclaimed, cutting Kaito off. She stood up and started walking quickly toward the exit of the cafeteria, calling back to Kaito over her shoulder. "Meet me in front of the hospital around two on Saturday, that's when my shift ends. See ya later!"

Kaito sat in a sort of dumbfounded silence as he watched SeeU rush out of the cafeteria and disappear behind the door. He had forgotten just how pushy the girl could be. Kaito sighed and shook his head before laying it on the table in defeat. Looks like he has plans for the weekend now.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, now we have a new character! I was actually having a hard time writing this one since I don't really have an idea of where this story is going, so I thought adding in SeeU would help, and it did! It was really fun writing her character, especially since everyone else is so depressing (but that's what I get for making a sad story wwww). Anyway, if any of you have any ideas for things I could have happen later in the story I'd love to hear them! It'd be really fun to see what I could do with some help from you guys :3**

 **Have a good day/night/whatever~**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It was Friday, the end of Rin's first week of school, and she sat alone at her desk during lunch again. She did this every day, and not once did she bring a lunch to eat. Luka would always come by and make a remark about this, but over the course of the week these comments became more like suggestions to eat than commands. Rin was more than fine with this, though it was still rather annoying having Luka come up to her every day. She wished her teacher would just leave her alone already.

"You really should eat something."

Today, though, this remark didn't come from her teacher. Rin turned around and looked at the pink-haired girl sitting a desk away with a surprised expression. IA merely stared back at her with a blank look.

"Huh?" Rin said questioningly.

As far as she knew, IA hadn't spoken to a single person ever since school began, so why was she talking to her, of all people?

"You'll starve yourself if you don't eat something," IA replied simply.

"I'm fine. Plus, even if I was hungry, I don't have any food, idiot," Rin retorted sharply.

IA seemed unphased by her remark as she reach into her bento box and pulled out an onigiri. She then held it out to Rin, face still expressionless. "Eat."

"No way," Rin responded curtly.

IA frowned slightly before moving closer to Rin, so that now the onigiri was practically against the blonde girl's nose. "Just eat it."

"No! Hey- mmph!"

Rin's protests were muffled by IA stuffing the onigiri into her mouth. Rin sent the other girl a death glare, yet had no other choice but to eat it. IA, for some reason, looked satisfied.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Rin exclaimed angrily once she had finished swallowing the onigiri.

"Ms. Kagamine, we don't use language like that in this classroom," Luka said sternly from her place at her desk at the front of the room.

"You're not going to do something about this?!" Rin asked incredulously.

"Well, normally I would intervene, but seeing as you've finally got some food in your stomach, I don't have a problem with it," Luka answered simply.

Rin stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds before turning to look at IA once more.

"You'll thank me later," IA stated plainly.

"I'm not thanking you for anything!" Rin practically yelled, feeling her temper rising by the second.

Just who was this girl, and who did she think she was? They didn't even know each other, and yet she felt she had the right to force feed Rin an onigiri? Hell, Rin might not have let even Miku do that!

"You're such a weirdo," Rin grumbled, sending IA one last glare before turning back around in her seat.

"You're the one who doesn't eat every day," she heard IA mutter softly.

Rin's eye twitched in irritation; that was none of her business whether Rin ate or not. Still, she tried to contain her temper the best she could. Rin honestly didn't feel like making a big scene in the middle of the classroom, especially since lunch would be ending soon and the rest of her classmates would be returning.

"Geez, I could at least get a little 'thanks' for being nice..."

Nope, screw trying to contain her temper. IA thought she was being nice? What part of "nice" entails shoving food down someone's throat?! Rin stood up and slammed her palms against the top of her desk, then whirled around to give IA an ice-cold glare.

"You know what? I don't need your 'kindness', or whatever the hell you want to call it! In fact, I hate pointless things like that!" Rin shouted. She started walking toward the other girl as she continued. "People who do 'nice' things for others when they don't even know them are so stupid! What do you have to gain from that? Does it make you feel satisfied?! Do you feel good about yourself?! Why don't you just-"

"Hey, hey, calm down! No need to start a fight!" a green-haired girl named Gumi rushed over and grabbed onto Rin's arm, stopping her from getting any closer to IA.

Rin glared at Gumi and was about to protest, when suddenly IA's voice brought her attention back to the pink-haired girl.

"Do you really think like that?" IA asked quietly.

"Of course I do!" Rin spat.

"I see..." IA muttered. She then stood up silently and walked over to the classroom door, pausing in the doorway to give Rin a sideways glance over her shoulders. "I feel bad for you, then."

After that, IA exited the classroom without another word.

"IA, come back here! You can't just go off on your own!" Luka called while hurrying over to the door. Though, she also paused briefly to look back at Rin, yet she held a much more firm gaze. "You don't go anywhere either, understand? I'll have a talk with you after class."

Luka left the room as well to chase after IA. Rin merely stood there, staring at the doorway in stunned silence. She had just seen IA smiling... hadn't she? It wasn't a mocking smile like one might expect in this situation, but rather a pitying, sympathetic smile. Somehow, as Rin stared blankly at the door, she couldn't seem to get the image out of her mind.

* * *

At the end of the day, everyone except Rin filed out of the classroom, while the blonde-haired girl sat at her desk and tapped her fingers on the surface in irritation. She looked at Luka with an expression that was a mixture of boredom and exasperation, wanting nothing more than to just go home already. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Luka was going to be letting her out of here any time soon.

"You do realize that I could have you potentially suspended for trying to start a fight with a student, don't you?" Luka started.

"I didn't even touch her," Rin grumbled.

"Had Gumi not stopped you, I'm sure you would've," Luka pointed out.

Rin said nothing, merely choosing to stare absently out one of the classroom's windows with a small mutter that really didn't form any sort of words.

Luka sighed. "But I'm not going to do that."

Rin sent her a questioning look. "You're not?"

"No, but I would at least like you to apologize to IA on Monday," Luka replied.

"Hey, why am I the only one who has to apologize? And why are you only talking to me? What about her? She's responsible for this too, you know!" Rin exclaimed angrily.

"I already talked to IA earlier when I went to go find her after lunch. Besides, what she did really didn't cause any harm, and she had good intentions while doing so. You, on the other hand..." Luka trailed off, knowing she didn't need to continue for Rin to understand what she was saying.

Rin merely stared at her incredulously. No harm? Good intentions? If that had been true, Rin wouldn't have gotten mad at her in the first place!

Luka sighed again, noticing Rin's expression. "Look, I think there's just been a misunderstanding here. IA's actually quite a nice girl, and I think the two of you would make great friends if you gave her a chance."

Rin scoffed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm perfectly fine with how I am."

"I don't know what your definition of 'fine' is, but to me you look rather lonely, sitting there by yourself every day without talking to a single person," Luka frowned slightly.

Rin crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. "If I say I'm fine, then I'm fine."

Luka shook her head slightly for a moment, before speaking again. "Well, I don't suppose I can force you to do anything. Just keep an open mind, alright? And don't forget to apologize to IA on Monday, got it?"

"I got it," Rin grumbled exasperatedly.

"Alright, then you may go," Luka said, finally releasing Rin.

Without a moment's hesitation, Rin grabbed her bag and quickly exited the room. She knew that at this point she had missed her bus, but she didn't feel like talking to anyone right now, let alone asking her mother to come pick her up, so she decided to just walk home. It was about a thirty minute walk from the school to her house, but she supposed that wasn't that bad, all things considered. As Rin walked along the sidewalk, she realized just how long it had been since she'd really gone anywhere other than school and home. Of course, she occasionally visited Miku in the hospital, but other than that Rin never really got out. She didn't have anyone to hang out with, all of her previous friends had either gone to different schools and lost touch with her or got fed up with her constantly grumpy mood and left. After Miku was gone, she'd be able to call herself officially "friendless".

Rin didn't know why, but the thought saddened her. Wasn't she the one always saying she was fine by herself? Wasn't she the one always pushing people away? If that's so, then why did she feel so hopelessly lonely at the thought of not having anyone to talk to anymore? Had Luka been right after all? Was she really not alright with how things were? Rin clutched her bag strap tighter as she tried to push the thoughts from her mind. It was best not to think about it, that way she didn't have to worry about it. That was the kind of flawed logic she'd been using ever since Miku was hospitalized. It had worked well enough so far, anyway.

The house was silent once again when she arrived. Rin dropped her bag off by the door and kicked off her shoes before collapsing onto the couch. She was feeling even more sluggish than usual and didn't really feel like cooking anything, so since it was a Friday anyway she decided she'd order pizza for dinner. Her mother generally discouraged eating unhealthy food unless it was a special event or something, but Rin honestly didn't care about that right now. Besides, if Lily had a problem with it, then she should've come home and made dinner herself.

"Ugh..." Rin groaned as she laid on her back and put her arm over her eyes.

She hadn't really ever had such bitter thoughts about her mother before, so why now? Was it because of her bad mood? Well, she supposed she was always in a bad mood nowadays, so that probably wasn't it. Plus, it's not like it was Lily that Rin was mad at, it was IA and Luka. They were the ones at fault here.

"I'm tired... I just want to sleep," Rin mumbled, rolling over to lay on her stomach and burying her face in the couch cushion.

 _Yeah... a nap sounds nice_ , Rin thought to herself. She closed her eyes and nuzzled closer into the cushions. Things wouldn't be so bad if she could just stay like this forever...

* * *

 **A/N: I also had a lot of fun writing this chapter ^w^ The beginning part kind of entertained me, so I hope some of you found it amusing as well (if not, well then I guess it seems a little weird, huh?). Anyway, since school is starting up again in a few days for me I'm afraid updates aren't going to be as frequent. I'm going to try to post a new chapter at least once a week, but I can't make any promises. I'm already out of pre-written chapters... Well, please tell me what you think of this story so far and as always:**

 **Have a great day/night/whatever~**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Before he knew it, it was two o' clock on Saturday afternoon. Kaito had, albeit reluctantly, gotten dressed and headed to the hospital with Meiko in tow to wait for SeeU to finish her work.

"It'll be a little strange seeing SeeU again after all this time," Meiko commented before smiling softly. "Though, I guess I have missed her a bit these past few years."

"Yeah," Kaito responded offhandedly.

"Kaity~! MeiMei~!" SeeU grinned and waved to them as she ran toward them.

"Can you not call me that?" Kaito asked.

SeeU merely giggled, ignoring his request. "It's so good to see you both! I've been dying to hang out again, just like old times!"

"It has been a while, huh?" Meiko smiled slightly at the cheerful girl.

SeeU nodded enthusiastically, all while continuing to grin broadly. She really did look just like she did in high school, especially with the clothes she was wearing. She must've changed clothes for their outing after her shift, for she was clad in a black hoodie with cat ears, a pleated orange skirt, white knee-high socks, and black hightops with bright blue and orange designs on them. Yep, she was definitely the same SeeU they had known.

"There's a local festival close to here that I thought would be fun to check out, so let's go," SeeU chirped while grabbing onto Kaito's and Meiko's wrists and beginning to drag them with her.

"Hey, slow down a little!" Kaito exclaimed, struggling to get out of the blonde girl's grasp.

"Nooo, I wanna get there as soon as possible so we can have fun!" SeeU whined.

Meiko chuckled slightly as she looked over at Kaito. "There's no point in arguing with her, you know that."

Kaito sighed in resignation, ceasing his struggles. "Yeah, I know..."

"Besides, I think this'll be good for you. You hardly ever go anywhere anymore, so it'll be a nice change of pace," Meiko commented.

"What about you? I don't see you going to places with your free time," Kaito pointed out.

Meiko looked away with a small, awkward laugh. "Well, you know, there's hasn't been anything I've wanted to do lately..."

Kaito hummed thoughtfully but decided to let the topic drop. Meiko seemed oddly uncomfortable about the topic, which was a little strange, but Kaito had to admit he wasn't all that interested in continuing the conversation. He could care less about what Meiko did with her free time; it was her life, after all. As long as she wasn't doing something absolutely insane like, say, being a serial killer then things were fine. But Kaito seriously doubted someone like Meiko would be a murderer or something like that.

"Look! Look! There it is!" SeeU exclaimed excitedly as she pointed to a festival they were quickly approaching.

It looked rather nice for such a small, local festival, and the scent of delicious food reached their noses even from this distance. It wasn't until then that Kaito realized just how hungry he was. Maybe some good food would be a nice change of pace from his usual bland meals...

"Wow... it seems like forever since I've been to a festival," Meiko commented, a faint smile on her face as she recalled fond memories. "It almost makes me wish I wore a yukata." She laughed lightly as she said this.

"Ahh, yukata's look so pretty on you MeiMei~ I wish you would've worn one too!" SeeU said wistfully. "I always go to festivals whenever they're in town, and when I was in college I would always go with my little sister Mayu and my best friend Tei. They're really nice girls, I'll have to instroduce you two to them someday!"

"Sounds good," Meiko responded.

Kaito wasn't really paying attention to the conversation, he was too busy looking at all the booths they were passing by. The smell of the food was almost unbearable now that they were so close to where it was being made, and Kaito couldn't help but wonder when the last time he had felt this hungry was. He hadn't been to a festival since two summers ago, back when Miku was still healthy. He remembered they used to try all the food that was served, then they would go back and get more of whatever they liked the most. Miku's favorite things were always anything that had leeks in it, so they ended up getting lots of that stuff everytime.

"Hey, Kaito, what's up? You seem even more distracted than usual," Meiko pointed out.

"I'm hungry..." Kaito muttered plainly in response.

Meiko blinked in surprise, not expecting this since Kaito never had much of an appetite for anything, then she chuckled. "Well, would you look at that? It seems Kaito's cheered up already."

"No I haven't!" Kaito argued, not wanting to admit that he actually did feel a little better.

"Well, if Kaity's hungry, let's grab something to eat! I haven't had lunch yet, so I'm starving~" SeeU chirped in a singsong voice. She looked around at the surrounding booths and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... where to start~?"

"How about over there?" Meiko suggested, pointing to a booth selling takoyaki.

"Ahh, I love takoyaki~! Come on, guys, let's go get some!" SeeU exclaimed, dragging them over to the booth.

 _Usually I'd be annoyed by something like this,_ Kaito thought to himself as he watched SeeU order takoyaki for the three of them. _But today it doesn't really bother me that much. I wonder why..._

* * *

And so, the trio spent the whole day going around to different booths, eating delicious food, playing games, and (occasionally) winning prizes. SeeU won a cute rabbit plushy at one point, which she said she was going to give to her sister Mayu next time she saw her. Meiko and Kaito had faced off at a shooting gallery, where the brown-haired girl had come out victorious, earning her a large stuffed panda bear. They also did various other things, and before they knew it it was late into the evening.

"Ahh~ Today was fun, wasn't it?" SeeU asked with a smile before taking a bite of the candy apple in her hand.

"It really was," Meiko agreed then looked over at her blue-haired companion. "What did you think, Kaito?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Kaito mumbled while nibbling on his cotton candy.

Meiko chuckled in amusement. "I'll take that as an 'it was fun'."

Kaito made a small "hmph" sound and busied himself with eating in order to avoid having to respond properly. He would never admit it, but today had been the most fun he had had in over a year. It was really refreshing, and he felt much better than he had before the outing. Still, the reminder of the reality he was forced to face lingered in the back of his mind the whole time, impossible to forget.

"You know, I'm glad you're finally enjoying yourself, even if it is just a bit," Meiko started slowly, turning her gaze toward the dusk sky. "It seems like no matter what I do, you're just constantly depressed. It makes me worried, you know?"

Kaito gave a thoughtful hum, but didn't say anything in response. He knew that Meiko worried about him, but there was no helping that. It wasn't like he could change his mood with a snap of the fingers like magic, that just wasn't possible. Even still, he didn't exactly want to be depressed all the time either. Silence enveloped the group as they all stared up at the sky. And, bathed in the soft orange glow of the sunset, three old friends stood side-by-side in a sort of unspoken agreement that this was how things should be, from now until always.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, tomorrow's Friday, so that means the first week of school for me is almost over. Yay! It's been exhausting, but other than that it wasn't actually all that bad. Still sucks that I've had homework every night ever since the second day, though... -.- It would've been cool to post this chapter before I went back since it has kind of an "end of summer" feel to it, but oh well, what can you do? I really enjoy the Kaito, Meiko, & SeeU trio, so I hope all of you do too~**

 **Welp, have a great day/night/whatever!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Hey," Rin started, her voice harsh and cold.

She was currently standing in front of IA's desk, after having been pestered by Luka ever since she arrived to apologize to the pink-haired girl for what happened on Friday. IA looked up at her with a plain expression, either not noticing the tone of Rin's voice or simply not caring. Both of which ticked Rin off.

"Listen, you're annoying as all hell, but I'm sorry," Rin said quickly, just wanting to get this dumb thing over with.

"Apology accepted," IA replied before returning to doing her work.

Rin stared down at her, more than a little dumbfounded. Seriously, who _was_ this girl? With an irritated sigh, Rin went back to her desk and plopped down rather ungracefully into the seat. She didn't even care at this point, she just wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. She felt like she was going to lose her mind if she spent one more second next to that girl.

"For the new unit we're starting this week, I decided to have all of you do a project on something of your choice, as long as it relates to the subject," Luka started. Then, she picked up a piece of paper and waved it around a bit in the air. "I've already put together a list of who will be partnered with who, so no, you don't get to choose your group."

A collective groan of complaint arose from the class. Luka didn't seem to pay any attention to it and simply went on by reading out the names of the groups on the list.

"...Group nine will be Rin Kagamine and IA..."

Rin froze as a wave of dread and exasperation overcame her, before she groaned and laid her head on the desk.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me," she growled under her breath, moving her head ever so slightly to send IA a death glare.

Of course, the pink-haired girl didn't even notice. Rin groaned again and turned her head back to the way it was, only able to stare at the wooden surface of her desk. _God, why do you hate me?_ Rin thought to herself as she closed her eyes and frowned. _Am I a bad person? Did I do something horrible in a past life? Did I kill your dog? I just don't get it..._ Luka remembered what happened only a few days ago between them, Rin knew she did because she had forced the blonde-haired girl to apologize just a few minutes ago, so why did she think it was a good idea to put the two of them together? Either her teacher was absolutely crazy or just plain dumb.

"Now, I'd like for all of you to get with your partners and start brainstorming ideas for your project. Remember, it has to somehow relate to forms of expression," Luka stated.

Unlike the other students, Rin didn't move an inch from her seat. Though, it wasn't like that really did anything. It just meant that IA came to her instead. IA sat down at the desk beside her, instead of the usual one desk-space apart distance, but Rin didn't even bother looking at her. In fact, she figured it'd be best if she just ignored IA all together.

"You don't look very happy," IA commented plainly.

Rin snorted. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious."

Well, looks like she didn't get very far with the whole "ignoring" thing.

IA rested her chin on her propped up hand and looked at Rin curiously. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe I just don't like having food shoved down my throat," Rin replied, her voice dripping with both curtness and sarcasm.

"Even before that you seemed to act like you hated me. The very first time I talked to you, you called me an idiot, remember?" IA pointed out.

"Whatever," Rin muttered, not wanting to continue the conversation.

IA was proving that she was absolutely horrible at reading moods (that or maybe she still didn't care that she was annoying Rin so much). "I think you just have a problem with people."

"I think you just have a problem with your face."

"That was a really dumb comeback."

"Shut up!"

IA sighed, as if _she_ were the exasperated one. "There you go again... We'll never get anything done if you can't at least cooperate with me."

"Hey, it's not like I'm the only problem here! You're also at fault too!" Rin retorted angrily.

"What have I done?" IA tilted her head, showing a hint of puzzlement in her face, the first emotion Rin had really seen her express ever since they first met.

"You annoy me," Rin replied bluntly.

"I'm starting to think everything annoys you," IA stated.

"That's not true at all! I just really do hate you!" Rin exclaimed, feeling her temper rise again.

IA hummed thoughtfully before rummaging around in her bag a bit and pulling out a pencil and a piece of notebook paper. "Here." She said simply as she set the two objects in front of Rin.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Rin asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly at the pink-haired girl.

"Write something, anything. If we can't communicate properly by talking, maybe writing everything down will work," IA answered as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

Rin sent her a thoroughly confused look before writing "You are literally the _weirdest_ person I have ever met" in big letters all across the paper. She then picked up the piece of notebook paper and shoved it in IA's face, not even caring that it was too close for her classmate to read. IA took the piece of paper in her hands, read over it quickly, then looked back up at Rin. For some reason, she looked slightly pleased.

"What? What's with that look on your face?" Rin asked, feeling more than a little weirded out.

"Nothing, it's just that I was right," IA replied.

"Huh?" Rin was, once again, puzzled.

"You're not as harsh when you write things down. Quieter, too," IA continued.

Rin glared daggers at her. "I hate you."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I was going to post this last night but for some reason wouldn't let me sign in, so I had to wait until it fixed itself today. Sorry about that :/ (To make up for this late update, I might post another chapter early since it's a 3 day weekend for me right now.) On another note, I'm beginning to really love the Rin & IA duo. They're so much fun to write, and the way IA handles Rin even makes me laugh sometimes. I hope you all are having as much fun reading about them as I have writing it. As always, please let me know what you think about things, and:**

 **Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 _"Rin~ Come on, it's this way!"_

 _Rin pushed a bundle of leaves out of the way and ducked underneath a low-hanging branch, following the sight of her teal-haired friend's back with her eyes the best she could._

 _"Where are we going anyway, Miku?" she asked, frowning slightly as she swatted a bug away from her face._

 _Miku looked over her shoulder at Rin with a grin and a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It's a secret, silly~ If I told you, it wouldn't be any fun."_

 _"You know I'm impatient," Rin whined._

 _Miku chuckled softly. "Just follow me. It's not that much farther, so just put up with it for a little longer, okay?"_

 _"Alright..." Rin agreed a bit reluctantly._

 _She had been following Miku for probably over fifteen minutes now. It was a very sudden thing, one moment they were in the living room of the teal-haired girl's house, the next Miku was dragging Rin by the hand into the forest in her backyard. They seemed to be following some sort of rough trail that looked more used by animals than humans, and Rin couldn't help but feel a little nervous about being out here like this. What if something bad happened? No one would ever find them all the way out here. Still, Rin trusted Miku more than anyone else in the world and would follow the girl to the ends of the earth. Honestly, they might as well have been doing just that._

 _After a few more minutes of making their way through thick brush, they came upon a clearing. Warm spring sunlight poured over the light green grass, a sharp contrast to the dim forest they had previously been walking in. Wildflowers of various hues dotted the ground in clumps, and across the clearing were bushes that looked to be full of blueberries._

 _"What is this place...?" Rin breathed in awe._

 _Miku spun around and giggled lightheartedly, before coming to a stop in front of Rin and spreading her arms out wide. "Welcome to my secret hideout!" She then placed a finger to her lips with a mischievous grin and winked at Rin. "But it's a secret, so don't go telling people about it, alright? It's for our eyes only~"_

 _"Wow! It's so pretty! How did you find it?!" Rin exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement and child-like curiosity._

 _"I followed a bunny here," Miku replied proudly, as if she had achieved something great._

 _"A bunny?" Rin repeated, tilting her confusedly._

 _Miku nodded. "Mmhm! Bunnies are cute, so when I saw it, I wanted to go after it! And, eventually, I ended up here."_

 _"Whoa..." Rin looked around the clearing again, grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe I should chase bunnies from now on."_

 _"Rin, it's not a good idea to run off on your own, you know," Miku stated._

 _"Huh? But isn't that what you did?" Rin asked, confused._

 _"I'm older, so it's okay for me to do stuff like that," Miku said matter-of-factly._

 _"Hey, don't go starting that again," Rin pouted and puffed out her cheeks like a little kid._

 _Miku chuckled at Rin's expression and ruffled the younger girl's hair affectionately, earning quite a bit of protest from Rin. "Oh, you know I'm just teasing you, Rinny~ The real reason is I don't want you getting hurt if you go off by yourself, alright?"_

 _"I'm not a little kid, you know. I can take care of myself just fine!" Rin argued._

 _"Yes, yes, Rinny's a big girl now, how could I forget?" Miku said with a small laugh._

 _"Hey! You sound like you're mocking me or something!" Rin exclaimed._

 _Miku ignored her friend's protests and walked over to a small bunch of light pink and white flowers. She kneeled down and began picking some of them while humming faintly to herself. Rin stood off to the side for a moment, still a little upset at being treated like a little kid, but she soon grew curious as to what her friend was doing. Rin walked over to where Miku was and looked down at the flowers in the teal-haired girl's hands._

 _"Whatcha doin'?" Rin asked._

 _"You'll see," Miku replied simply._

 _Rin pouted slightly again; she hated waiting. Still, she sat down beside Miku and watched silently anyway. It seemed that Miku was tying the flowers together in a way Rin didn't quite understand, but she found it kind of interesting. She really wanted to know what Miku was doing._

 _"Okay, Rin, sit still for a moment," Miku said after a few minutes._

 _Rin did as she was told and watched as Miku placed the ring of woven flowers onto the blonde girl's head. Confused, Rin reached up to gently touch the flowers, which had very soft petals._

 _"What's this for?" Rin questioned._

 _"It's a flower crown, silly. It looks really good on you too," Miku smiled brightly at her friend._

 _Rin returned the smile with a small giggle. "You think so?"_

 _Miku nodded. "Yep!"_

 _Just then, they heard a rustling in the bushes to their right. They both turned around quickly to see what it was, and found a deer staring at them with large, brown eyes. The two girls stared back at it in awe, sitting in stunned silence, before the creature eventually looked away and began grazing. Miku and Rin exchanged glances, then grinned broadly._

 _"How cool is this?" Rin whispered excitedly._

 _"The coolest! Even I haven't seen that before, and I've been here tons of times!" Miku whispered back, just as excited._

 _Rin looked back over at the deer. "Wow... it's really pretty..."_

 _"I think it's a sign," Miku started._

 _Rin sent her a puzzled look. "A sign? Of what?"_

 _"Of our friendship. Something like this has never happened before, but when I brought you, it did. That's got to be a sign of something," Miku replied._

 _Rin hummed thoughtfully and leaned back, using her hands to prop herself up. They were both silent for a moment before Miku spoke again._

 _"Hey, Rin, let's make a promise," she started._

 _"For what?" Rin asked, curious._

 _"To be together forever," Miku answered._

 _Rin chuckled softly. "Miku, we don't need to make a promise for that! Of course we're gonna be together forever!"_

 _"I know, I know, but just stick out your pinky anyway," Miku stated._

 _Rin extended her pinky finger toward Miku, and the teal-haired girl linked Rin's finger with her own._

 _"Now, it's a promise," Miku said with a smile._

 _Rin smiled as well. "It's a promise."_

* * *

"-in. Rin. Hey, Rin!"

Rin's eyes fluttered open slowly to see IA leaning over and shaking her awake. A scowl immediately found its way onto the blonde's face at the sight of her pink-haired classmate.

"What do you want?" Rin asked coldly, though she still sounded a bit groggy having just woken up.

"Well, for one, you were sleeping in class, so I woke you up before Ms. Luka could notice and scold you again," IA started. Then, after pausing for a moment, she continued. "Also, you were crying in your sleep..."

"Huh?" Rin sat up in surprise and touched her cheek.

Sure enough, it was all wet, and there were a few small puddles on her desk where he face had been. Now that Rin thought about it, her eyes kind of stung too. She had no clue why she had been crying, but then she remembered the dream she had been having during her nap. _"We'll be together forever"_ she had said. Obviously "forever" wasn't as long as she had thought.

"Damn it..." Rin muttered to herself as new tears started falling.

IA looked at her with a mixture of confusion and a hint of concern, but for once Rin was hardly aware of the girl's existence. She covered her mouth with her hands to try and stifle the sobs, but that was hard to do with how hard she was crying. Of course, this attracted the attention of her fellow peers and teacher, and soon enough all eyes were on her as hushed whispers went around the room.

"Hey, what's wrong?" a girl sitting at the desk in front of Rin asked gently as she turned around and touched Rin's arm in a reassuring way.

"Don't touch me!" Rin shouted, jumping up and sending a harsh glare at the girl, knocking her chair over in the process.

The girl flinched and let out a scared squeak at this. Silence filled the whole room for a minute, before even more hushed whispers started up again. _I hate this,_ Rin thought to herself, covering her mouth with her hand again. _I hate this so much. I feel sick. What should I do? What can I do?_ In a sort of panic, Rin ran out of the classroom as fast as she could. She could hear Luka calling for her to come back, but she didn't listen of course. She figured Luka would probably come chasing after her like she did with IA that time a few days ago, so Rin only began running faster. She needed to find a place where she could be alone, if at least for a few minutes, no matter where it was. She felt like she was suffocating, and it was just as terrifying as it was painful. _I hate this,_ she repeated again. _I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!_

* * *

 **A/N: Like I said, here's an early chapter for you all! When I first wrote this one, I was feeling kind of bummed, so that's why poor Rin is all upset... I don't really know if I made this clear or not, but just in case you didn't know, Rin's dream was actually a memory of one of the times she had spent with Miku when they were younger. I'd say she was about nine or so when the event took place, that's why she was so adamant about not being called a little kid (because really, aren't we all that way when we're around that age?). I'm sorry if the ending seemed a little rushed, but I promise the next chapter will make up for it. Please continue telling me what you think and giving me support, you all are the best :)**

 **Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

By the time Rin stopped running, she found herself in the girl's bathroom in the building all the way across the campus from where her class was. She locked herself in the largest stall in the corner of the bathroom and stood in front of the sink as she continued to cry. She doubted Luka would be able to find her in here, so she didn't worry too much about trying to keep her voice down.

"Damn it... why the hell would I dream about that?!" she cursed as she buried her face in her hands.

It wasn't that she didn't want to remember the good times she'd had with Miku, it was more like she couldn't handle it when she did. Thinking about how things were, how things still should be, it made it hard to breathe. It was enough to make Rin's chest feel heavy just by thinking of the frail girl in the hospital, but thinking about how that girl had once been so strong and free-spirited was unbearable. How could someone like that now be so helpless and weak? It wasn't fair; Miku didn't deserve any of this.

"Hey, why are you crying?"

The sudden voice caused Rin to jump and whirl around, wondering who could be speaking to her. Though, she had locked the door when she entered the stall, so there couldn't be anyone behind her, and she didn't see any feet from beneath the gap in the door. Tentatively, she unlocked the stall door and pushed it open just enough to peer through the crack. There was no one out there. Rin scrunched up her face in confusion at this. Though, now that she thought about it, the voice of the person who had spoken to her definitely belonged to a boy, and there was no reason for a boy to be in the girls' restroom, so why...?

"I'm not out there, you know. Turn back around."

Rin jumped again as the voice spoke to her once more, and, slowly, she shut and locked the stall door again before turning around. There, in the mirror, was the same mysterious boy as the one from that time in her bathroom at home. Rin let out a small scream and backed away until her body was pressed against the door. The boy in the mirror sighed softly and shook his head.

"Are you going to do that every time you see me?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Why wouldn't I?! Not only is my reflection completely different from me, but now it's _talking_ too!" Rin exclaimed.

"Hey, I'm not _completely_ different from you. I still look like you, it's just that I'm a boy and you're not," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

Rin fully took in the image of the boy before her and found that he, indeed, did look surprisingly similar to herself. They had the same short blonde hair (except for his was held up in a small ponytail, while hers was down with a few white clips holding her bangs in place), the same bright blue eyes, and the same almost unhealthily pale skin tone (that Rin more or less developed from becoming a complete shut-in over the past year, though even before that she had always been a little on the pale side). Along with that, their facial structure was also practically the same, with Rin's being just a tad bit more feminine. _I guess he really is my reflection after all,_ Rin thought in wonder.

The boy let out a small, amused chuckle. "Looks like you've calmed down a bit. You've stopped crying, too."

"Huh?" Rin was confused, until she realized that sometime during this whole event she had actually stopped crying.

Her cheeks were still wet with leftover tears, and her eyes still felt puffy and slightly uncomfortable, but the painful ache and heaviness in her chest was gone. Though, thinking about it now was causing it to reappear a bit.

"So, why were you crying earlier?" the boy repeated his question from before.

"If you're my reflection, then doesn't that also mean you're essentially me? And that means you should know why already," Rin retorted curtly, narrowing her eyes at the mirror.

He tilted his head slightly. "Who ever said I was you? Just because I'm your reflection and _look_ like you, that doesn't mean I _am_ you. I only have your appearance, not your feelings."

"Even if that's true, why should I explain anything to you?" Rin questioned suspiciously.

The boy shrugged and seemed to lean back a little in the mirror. "No reason, I just thought you might want someone to talk to, that's all."

Rin was silent for a moment after he said this. She hadn't actually talked to anyone about how she felt ever since Miku's hospitalization, not that they couldn't guess already with her nearly constant crying. She figured that even though she was horrible at opening up to and confiding in people, she could at least put her trust in her reflection. After all, who was he going to tell? So, with a sense of lingering reluctance, Rin walked over to the toilet, put the lid down, and sat down on it for a makeshift chair. She may have worked up the courage to spill her guts to someone (albeit, someone who probably didn't even exist), but she was still a long ways away from working up the courage to look at the person while she told them these things. Another few seconds of silence passed by, before Rin took a deep breath and opened her mouth to begin.

"A little over a year ago, my best friend, Miku, was hospitalized with some kind of terminal illness. We'd been the closest friends ever since pre-school, so it really hit me hard when I learned that she's going to die soon. It's just... Miku is, er... _was_... the kind of person that everyone looked to whenever they needed help or support. She's always been the kindest, most caring person anyone could ever meet. If she saw someone being bullied, she'd stand up for them right then and there without a second thought. Or if a kid dropped their ice cream and started crying, she'd buy them a new one and tell them jokes until they felt better. She was that kind of person. That person that's so selflessly kind and thoughtful that you can't believe they actually exist. Hell, even _I_ sometimes questioned whether she was real or not! But now..."

Rin paused for a moment, feeling a lump form in her throat and constrict her words. Still, she decided to push on despite this. Honestly, it was more like since she had finally started unloading her feelings and thoughts, she couldn't stop.

"Now, she can't even support herself anymore. I know she feels bad about burdening all of us like this, I can see it in her eyes when I visit her, but really she's the only one that thinks she's a burden. All I want is for her to get better, I don't care how long it takes, just as long as I know she'll be able to survive and go back to her old, strong self again. But all I've heard is 'she won't make it' or 'it's only a matter of time before she dies'. Isn't that just awful? Huh, isn't it?"

Rin's voice was rising in volume now as angry tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She couldn't see what expression the boy in the mirror was making, but she heard him give a thoughtful hum.

"Aren't you just denying the inevitable, then?" he asked.

Rin blinked in surprise, before her eyes narrowed into a vicious glare sent in the mirror's direction. "What the hell? I thought you'd at least be on my side!"

"If you wanted me to say something like 'yeah, how dare they tell you she's going to die', then I'm sorry, but I won't do that. Unlike other people, I'm not going to lie to you," he said calmly.

Once again, an expression of surprise found its way onto Rin's face, and she fell silent. She couldn't think of a way to respond to that, so she settled with not saying anything for a few minutes. Then, feebly, as if she were merely a child again, she spoke up.

"You know, I don't mind being lied to, as long as it's less painful than the truth..." Rin mumbled.

"I think most people would agree with you on that," the boy in the mirror said solemnly.

Silence enveloped the two once again as Rin sat there, staring at the floor with a contemplating look on her face. As this happened, without a sound, a figure slipped out of the restroom and headed back to their class, a small frown plastered on their face.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, this story already has over 20 reviews! Okay, just let me say, thank you all soooo much for all of the support you have given me! My reviewers hear this all the time and are probably getting sick of it tbh, but I'm just so very grateful to every single one of you. Even the people who only read the story and nothing more, I still can't thank you enough! Because of you, all of you, I look forward to updating this story just as much a you all (hopefully) look forward to the updates! I could go on forever with how much I love you guys, but I'm not going to because I'd just annoy everyone *laughs nervously*. So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please tell me what you think of everything so far!**

 **Have a great day/night/whatever~**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Hmm?"

Kaito picked up a jacket that was laying across one of the chairs in the dining room and looked at it curiously. It was too small to be his, that was for sure, and the only other person who had been in his apartment recently was Meiko. He figured she must've left it here by mistake after her visit last night. Kaito glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was a little past ten at night. Since it wasn't really that late, he decided he could just stop by Meiko's house real quick and give it back to her. Meiko might need it, what with the cooler weather and all.

Putting on a light coat of his own, Kaito headed out into the city. He hadn't been out this late in a while, and the light coming from the street lamps cast odd shadows that made familiar objects look strange and foreign. Although some people might've found walking by yourself at night disturbing, Kaito actually thought it was kind of relaxing. There weren't as many people out at night, and it was much quieter than it was in the daytime. Lately, Kaito had been having less tolerance for people, which he supposed was justified in a way. Really, the only people he liked right now were Miku, Meiko, and (although he was a little hesitant to admit this) SeeU. If he actually saw Rin more than once every month or so, he supposed he wouldn't mind her presence either.

Thinking about this made Kaito realize he didn't really have any guy friends, and he scoffed a bit in dry amusement as he walked. For some reason, he'd never been really close to any guys growing up. Sure, he'd been friends with multiple male classmates before, but the only friend that ever stuck with him for more than a year was Meiko. It was certainly nice having Meiko around, but every now and then even Kaito wanted a male friend to hang out with. Maybe he was just bad at making friends and, by some miracle, had managed to get Meiko at some point. Who knows.

Kaito soon found himself at Meiko's doorstep, and his wishful thoughts vanished from his mind. He may have been blunt, but he certainly wasn't an honest person by any means, yet even he had to admit that he didn't need any more friends than the ones he had. Both Meiko and, yes, SeeU were good to him, and Kaito guessed that he was here now returning a jacket that he probably could've waited until tomorrow to give back for that very reason. Kaito raised his hand and knocked on the door three times before stepping back to wait for an answer. A few seconds passed without a response, so he knocked three times once more. Again, he was met with silence. Frowning slightly to himself, Kaito decided to try turning the knob to see if the door was open. Sure enough, it swung open without any resistance. Kaito stepped inside and shut the door quietly behind him, feeling a sense of concern start to well up inside of him.

"Meiko?" Kaito called as he began to wander around his friend's house.

There was only silence for a few seconds in response, before a loud crash that sounded like glass shattering echoed throughout the halls. Kaito jumped, startled from the loud noise, then ran toward the source of the sound as a whole new sense of worry bubbled up. _Oh god, Meiko, please be alright!_ he thought to himself, feeling both anxious and panicked at the same time. Finally, he arrived at Meiko's bedroom, where he thought the sound had originated from. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw open the door and stepped inside. The room was very dark, but he could make out the distinct figure of Meiko passed out on the bed and shards of what appeared to be glass of some kind on the floor, glinting with light from the hallway.

"Meiko!" Kaito yelled as he hurried over to her side.

He shook the brunette rather forcefully, until she finally responded by giving a pretty irritated sounding groan. Kaito sighed in relief and leaned back, careful not to make any contact with the glass. Meiko mumbled something while squirming around a bit (was she trying to get up? It was hard to tell), but Kaito couldn't quite make out what it was supposed to be.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you. And what happened here, anyway?" Kaito said, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"I said, what the hell are you doing here?" Meiko replied curtly as she finally managed to sit up, though she seemed to be... slurring her words?

"What?!" Kaito exclaimed in surprise. "I was worried sick thinking you were dead and _that's_ your response?! What kind of-" He suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence as he noticed something.

Along with Meiko's newfound speech impendiment, her face was also oddly red, and she had a sort of dazed expression on. Also, upon closer inspection, the glass shards all over the ground appeared as if they had come from some sort of beer bottle.

"Wait a minute..." Kaito started slowly, staring at Meiko as a look of realization dawned on his face. "Don't tell me you're drunk."

"So what if I am?" Meiko slurred while giving him a sharp glare. "What's it to you?"

"Jesus Christ, Meiko... I can't believe this..." Kaito put his face in his hands and shook his head in disbelief.

Meiko wasn't normally a heavy drinker, she hadn't been since the end of her alcoholic period in high school, so this was very unusual for her. In fact, ever since her rehabilitation, she had even despised the idea of getting drunk. Sure, a few light drinks here and there was fine by her standards, but getting completely wasted like this? It repulsed her. Something was seriously wrong with Meiko if she had gone back to her old drinking habits. Kaito looked up at her again, locking his blue eyes with her brown ones, and tried to see if he could find any clue to her sudden change of behavior there. All he saw was his own puzzled reflection.

"I thought you hated getting drunk," Kaito pointed out, hoping to get some answers from her.

Meiko shrugged nonchalantly. "Drinking is drinking. Doesn't matter if it's a lot or a little, right?"

She reached over to grab a new bottle from the desk, but Kaito quickly snatched it away from her with an irritated expression.

"No, that's not right, you even said so yourself! _You're_ the one that always critisized _me_ for drinking too much whenever we went to the bar together!" he nearly yelled.

"Well, who cares? We all say dumb shit sometimes, so just let it go!" Meiko spat and narrowed her eyes viciously.

"But that's not dumb! That's probably the most responsible thing anyone's ever said to me, even if I thought it was just annoying at the time!" Kaito argued.

Meiko made a "tch" sound in annoyance, but Kaito ignored her and continued speaking, trying to keep his voice level as he did.

"Meiko, please, listen to me. This isn't like you. Whatever you say, whatever you believe, deep down we both know that this is not something you'd normally do. Go ahead, look at me in contempt and loathe my very existence right now, I don't care. I've already gone past the point of caring about anything like that. Hell, I went past that point when Miku was thrown into that damn hospital. And if you're even half as smart as I think you are, then I know you know this too." Kaito paused for a moment, noting Meiko's silence, not exactly compliance, just silence, before continuing. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I need you to tell me why you're acting like this. The Meiko I know is a good person, stubborn as all hell once she makes up her mind, and has very strong ideals that she sticks to. But this Meiko in front of me... she looks empty, drained of every hopeful and vibrant part of her. I don't want that kind of Meiko, though. I want the Meiko that I became friends with all those years ago, the one who's supported me all this time, the one I hate to admit I couldn't live without..."

Kaito let out a shaky chuckle as his voice trailed off, thinking he sounded like the sappiest human being on the face of the earth. Still, he couldn't help it if all those things were true and just simply poured out from his mouth before he even knew it. He never spoke openly about his feelings to anyone, even Meiko, so it felt both strange and relieving in a sense to ramble on like this. Yet, at the same time, it left this unbearable pain in his chest that he tried very hard not to familiarate himself with.

"Damn it, Meiko... Don't you realize that if you go off and do something stupid that leaves you dead I'll be all alone?" Kaito's voice quivered as he said this, ever so softly, just loud enough to be heard.

Meiko sat there staring at him, looking less irritated and more solemn. Neither of them said anything for a good minute or two, before Meiko finally opened her mouth.

"So, at heart, you really are still the crybaby from back then, huh?" she let out a soft, slightly amused laugh.

"Huh?" Kaito looked at her in surprise before wiping at his eyes to see if her accusations were true. When he looked down, the edge of his hand was wet.

"I remember how back in middle school, you got teased a lot, and I'd always find you sitting in the corner of the playground sniffling to yourself like a little kid. Of course, I'd always go yell at whatever kid had made you cry this time, and you'd just blush in embarrassment and tell me I was being brash again," Meiko recalled fondly, now chuckling with real mirth.

Kaito couldn't help but smile faintly as well. "You really were, though. The second I told you what happened you'd run off to go chew out that day's poor victim. Sometimes I actually felt bad for them, you know?"

Meiko laughed. "Well yeah, they were always terrified by the time I finished yelling at them! Of course, I thought the looks on their faces were priceless!" She continued laughing for a few moments, before it died down into a content sigh and a smile. "Man, I was such a badass."

"Yeah, yeah," Kaito agreed in a sort of joke-mockery.

He sat down on the edge of the bed beside Meiko, and they fell silent again. The silence was only broken by a yawn that escaped Meiko's mouth after a couple of minutes had passed, and Kaito looked over at her with a faint smile.

"Come on, why don't you get some rest now? The sooner you sleep, the sooner we can deal with that hangover of yours in the morning," Kaito suggested, adding the last part jokingly.

"But I don't wanna~!" Meiko whined like a child, flopping down onto the mattress so that she was now looking up at the ceiling.

Kaito rolled his eyes and tossed the blanket over her, earning an exclamation of protest from the brunette. "Whatever, just go to sleep. If it makes you feel any better, I'll stay here too, alright?"

Meiko gave a displeased grumble, but she didn't exactly make an open protest against it. Kaito took this as a sign of compliance and laid down beside her with a soft chuckle. Despite claiming she didn't want to go to sleep, it took only mere minutes before Meiko was out like a light.

"Geez, it really is like looking after a child," Kaito muttered to himself. With a sigh, he turned his head to gaze up at the ceiling, before smiling faintly again. "Though, since it's you, it's not too hard to tolerate..."

Kaito closed his eyes, finally realizing just how tired he actually was, and soon drifted off into a pleasant sleep as well. And there the two friends lay, side by side, both indulging in their dreams that would soon slip away into a cruel yet rewarding reality.

* * *

 **A/N: NO, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP OF ANY KIND, THEY'RE JUST REALLY GOOD FRIENDS, OKAY? OKAY. Anyway, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I wanna say that I'm pretty pleased with this chapter. It was a real pain to write since I kept getting stuck every few paragraphs, but in the end I think it turned out well. I planned to have something like this happen ever since I began this story, and now it has, so yay! Also, I'm really sorry for taking so long to update, it's just that this chapter was pretty difficult to write like I said and I got caught up with school work a lot of the time. So, please tell me what you think of this chapter or the story as a whole, I'd love to hear your opinion!**

 **Have a great day/night/whatever~**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Meiko awoke the next morning with a pounding headache. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her forehead like it might actually help. She couldn't quite recall why her head hurt so much, nor did she remember ever even going to sleep last night, but she couldn't be bothered to think about it much at the moment and brushed it aside. She glanced over at the clock sitting on her bedside table, noticing that it was already close to eleven o' clock. Meiko figured she might as well get up and try to do something productive with the rest of her day, so she stretched her arms up until her back gave a satisfying pop and climbed out of bed. Though, when she turned around to head over to her closet to get some clean clothes, she noticed Kaito sleeping on the bed. She wasn't sure how she had failed to notice this earlier, but the sight caused her to stop in her tracks and stare. Why was he here?

"Ugh, this is making my head hurt even worse," Meiko muttered, placing her hand on her forehead again and frowning.

The sight of Kaito brought fuzzy images into her mind which she assumed were from last night, but it was too hard right now to clearly tell what they were. The only thing she managed to figure out was that she must've gotten drunk last night, and somehow Kaito had gotten here. It was a thought that made her nervous, and she quickly grabbed some casual clothes from her closet before exiting the room. She headed to her bathroom to change and freshen up a bit, wondering what she was going to do about this whole situation. Luckily, Kaito hadn't woken up yet, but he would eventually and she wasn't sure what she was going to do at that point. What made this even harder was the fact that she still couldn't remember what had happened last night. As Meiko exited the bathroom, she heard her cell phone start to ring. She walked over to where it was on the coffee table in the living room and picked it up, not even bothering to see who was calling as she answered it with a simple, "Hello?"

"Hi, Meiko! I got off of work early today, and I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch with me today," SeeU's ever-cheerful voice sounded from the other end of the phone.

Meiko hesitated for a moment, trying to decide how to respond. On one hand, her head was pounding like crazy and she felt absolutely awful from this dumb hangover, yet on the other hand, it would give her the perfect opportunity to avoid having to talk to Kaito whenever he got up. In the end, Meiko's fear outweighed her want to simply do nothing until she felt better.

"Sure, sounds great. Where and at what time should I meet you?" Meiko inquired.

"There's this cute little cafe I've been wanting to try ever since I moved back here- you know, that one on 4th street?- so how about we meet up there at noon?" SeeU suggested.

Meiko hummed thoughtfully as she looked over at the clock on the wall. It was around eleven-twenty now. "Yeah, that'll work."

"Great! See you then!"

With that, SeeU hung up the phone, most likely to go get ready or something like that. Meiko sighed and tossed her phone onto the couch, before collapsing onto it as well. She really didn't feel like going anywhere right now, and she was afraid that SeeU was going to bombard her with questions if she seemed a little off during their lunch, but it couldn't be helped. She had already agreed, and it wasn't like the alternative was any better. Meiko waited another ten minutes or so before grabbing her essentials, slipping on her shoes, and heading out the door. She knew the cafe SeeU had been talking about (although she had never actually been there either), and she figured it would be about a fifteen minute walk from her house, so she didn't bother driving there. Besides, she probably needed the exercise anyway.

When Meiko arrived at the cafe, SeeU was already there waiting for her. SeeU grinned broadly upon seeing her friend and quickly ushered Meiko over to one of the small outdoor tables that surrounded the building, where SeeU must've already been seated. SeeU took her seat at one end of the table, and Meiko sat down across from her.

"It's really nice to have some girl time together, isn't it?" SeeU smiled warmly at Meiko.

Meiko gave a small smile in return, despite feeling that doing so was a challenge. "Yeah, it is."

"Though..." SeeU trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"Hmm?" Meiko looked at her questioningly, waiting for the blonde-haired girl to continue.

"I feel bad that Kaito couldn't be here too. I tried calling him, but he wasn't answering his phone," SeeU pouted slightly. "I guess he's busy, huh?"

"Probably..." Meiko responded, choosing then to shift her gaze down to the menu that was lying in front of her.

Kaito must not have brought his phone with him when he went over to her house last night for whatever the reason may have been. When Meiko looked back up at SeeU, she saw that the girl actually looked sad for once. It was such a strange thing to see that for a moment, Meiko's mind went blank and all she could do was stare at her friend in surprise. Not once in all the years that they had known each other had Meiko seen SeeU look anything but mildly displeased at most, and even that was expressed in a childish sort of way.

"SeeU, is something wrong?" Meiko asked in concern once her mind started to function again.

SeeU seemed startled for a second, before she gave her companion a sheepish smile. "Ah, well... I was just thinking about how Kaito told me about Miku's situation, that's all." She paused for a moment before continuing. "To be honest, after he told me, I started looking into Miku's medical records and exams since I was curious. I did that today, too, and... well, I don't think there's much more we can do for her."

Meiko's eyes widened a little as she realized what SeeU meant. "So, you're saying..." It was too awful to even finish the sentence.

"This morning, she took yet another one of those tests that everyone in her ward keeps conducting to try and see if there's any advancement in the illness. On my way out of work, I decided to check the results of that test just to see how she was doing, and it didn't look good. I knew about her losing her eyesight a while ago, but now she's losing her ability to speak too," SeeU explained while staring down at her hands, which were folded in her lap.

"And that means that she doesn't have much longer, huh?" Meiko muttered solemnly.

"They suspect that it could be anywhere to a month or two to even half a year, but yes, it's not too much longer," SeeU replied.

Meiko sighed and put her head in her hands, wondering what to do. If Kaito heard about this, which he inevitably would, it was going to do all sorts of damage to whatever stability he had. Just when it seemed like his spirits might actually be rising again, they were going to be crushed and thrown away like trash. Meiko wasn't sure she or SeeU would be able to keep him together after that. Worrying about this caused Meiko's insistent headache to worsen.

"Though, the one I'm really worried about is Kaito. Doesn't it seem like he'd only become more depressed once he learns about this?" SeeU commented.

"It'll absolutely destroy him," Meiko answered without even looking up.

SeeU frowned slightly at this. "But what if... What if Miku wanted to die?"

Now Meiko looked up, fixing SeeU with an incredulous gaze. "What?"

"Well, it's obvious that Miku isn't happy with how things are either, and I'm sure she hates seeing everyone being so upset, so what if she wanted things to end? She's probably come to terms with the fact that she won't get better by now, and most of the time when patients realize this they feel like death isn't such a bad thing. It ends the suffering for both them and their loved ones, even if it ends up breaking a few people sometimes," SeeU pointed out.

"I can't say I quite understand what you're going for here..." Meiko said slowly, trying to understand what SeeU meant by this.

"What I'm saying is, what if we talk to Miku and get her to convince Kaito that her dying won't be the end of the world? That, in fact, it will be a good thing because she won't have to be miserable anymore and he would also be free from a burden?" SeeU suggested.

"Miku isn't being a burden," Meiko stated coolly, feeling defensive for the young girl in the hospital.

"I know that, but her illness is," SeeU started gently. "I mean, it costs a lot of money to keep someone in the hospital that long and conduct all those tests and treatments on them. And the emotional strain it's put on everyone around her, I'm sure that itself has led to a number of problems."

Meiko thought back to Rin's hysterical visits, Kaito's seemingly incurable depression, her own recent return to drinking, and felt in the back of her mind that SeeU had a point. Though, for whatever reason (whether it be the influence of Kaito's protectiveness over Miku, or her own attachment to the girl), Meiko refused to think of any of this as Miku's fault. After all, this illness that she had developed was far out of anyone's control.

"It's just something you'd expect in this kind of situation. We're human beings, we have problems and flaws, you can't blame anyone else for that," Meiko responded a bit curtly.

SeeU gave a low hum, though whether it was thoughtful or displeased, Meiko wasn't sure. The rest of their lunch passed by in mostly silence, with small bits of idle chit chat here and there during the meal. Once they both finished eating and paid for their food, they bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. Though, as Meiko walked home and thought back to her parting exchange with SeeU, she realized that that kind of goodbye was something you'd say to a coworker or acquaintance, not to someone you had been friends with for years. This thought left a heavy feeling in Meiko's chest, and she almost felt like crying for the first time in a while. She knew that after today, SeeU might as well be a stranger to her.

* * *

 **A/N: Ahh I'm getting so bad at updating! DX I'm really sorry guys, but life and a lack of inspiration caused this story to have a minor hold up. But (hopefully) now I'll be able to post the next few updates within a reasonable time frame. This chapter didn't exactly go in the direction I thought it would, but hey, it's done so whatever. Even if it's a lot sadder than I originally meant it to be, at least I managed to finally write something. On the bright side though (is it a bright side?), this chapter establishes a major point in this story: Miku does not have a lot of time left to live. I'm not going to say exactly how this affects the story, but it should be pretty obvious that our characters now have to deal with this fact in their own ways. It should be interesting to see how they do that~**

 **Ugh, I'm rambling, nooooo... Anyways, as always, please tell me what you think of the story so far and have a great day/night/whatever!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Returning to class after the incidents that had taken place yesterday was awkward, to say the least. Once Rin had finished her conversation with her reflection in the bathroom, she had decided to walk home (despite it being a little too far for that) just so she wouldn't have to face anyone. Now, though, there was no avoiding it, and she simply had to brave the fact of going to school. When Rin entered the classroom, it immediately became silent, and everyone avoided her gaze. The silence was painfully suffocating as Rin walked over to her desk and sat down, using her long bangs to hide her face. She had actually left her usual white clips at home today for this very reason. Noticing the uncomfortable atmosphere of the room, Luka began teaching her lesson, drawing everyone's attention away from the blonde-haired girl in the back. For once, Rin was a little grateful to Luka.

Things returned to normal fairly quickly after this, almost as if Rin's little outburst yesterday afternoon had never occurred. By the time lunch arrived, everyone went off as per usual, laughing and chatting amiably amongst themselves. Rin, too, did her usual thing, which was to sit at her desk without a word for the duration of the lunch period. Though, something that wasn't a normal occurrence did happen that day. A girl with purple hair held in low twintails and wearing a bunny hoodie (someone Rin vaguely remembered taking note of on the first day, but couldn't quite recall her name) walked over to Rin's desk.

"Hi, um, you probably don't know me, but is it okay for me to eat lunch with you?" the girl asked, looking a little nervous.

Rin was surprised that anyone would ask something like that, but she of course didn't let that show. Instead, she decided to respond with a question of her own.

"Why?" Rin questioned, looking up at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that girl that you usually eat lunch with isn't here today, so I figured you might be lonely..." the purple-haired girl trailed off.

Rin glanced over at the desk where IA sat and found that, sure enough, the pink-haired girl wasn't there. Honestly, until now Rin hadn't noticed.

"I'm not lonely," Rin said firmly, fixing the purple-haired girl with a cool gaze. Then, she shrugged nonchalantly and continued with, "But do whatever you want. It's not like I can stop you."

The purple-haired girl smiled faintly and sat down at the unoccupied desk beside Rin. She set her packed lunch on the surface of the desk before opening the box up to take out its contents. Rin, uninterested in what the girl was doing, started to zone out while staring at nothing in particular.

"Do you want one?" the purple-haired girl's voice broke through Rin's thoughts, making her jump slightly in surprise.

Rin turned to look at the girl and saw that she held a half of a sandwich in each hand. "What?"

"Do you want some of my sandwich? I noticed you didn't have any food, and I don't mind sharing so..." the girl trailed off, looking sheepish.

Rin was about to refuse, when suddenly her stomach gave a rather loud rumble. Instead of looking embarrassed like most people would, Rin just looked irritated. Before, she could've gone all day without eating and wouldn't have any problem at all, but once IA started practically force-feeding her everyday, she supposed her stomach got used to the extra nutrition. Rin decided this was yet another annoyance to add to the ever increasing list of problems she had with the pink-haired girl.

"Fine..." Rin grumbled reluctantly as she took one of the offered halves of the sandwich.

The girl smiled at her as Rin began to eat, before her eyes suddenly widened in realization. Upon seeing this, Rin raised an eyebrow as if to say "What?", while still continuing to eat.

"Oh! I just realized I never introduced myself! Ahh, how embarrassing..." the girl trailed off at the end, looking a little distraught, then shook her head and gave Rin another smile. "My name is Yuzuki Yukari."

"Rin Kagamine," Rin introduced with a mouthful of sandwich. Like manners were any concern to her.

"I kind of knew that already... Most people in our class do, actually," Yukari pointed out awkwardly.

Rin swallowed the bite of sandwich in her mouth and frowned. "Right..." she muttered. Of course they knew her, what with that huge outburst she had had yesterday. Though, if everyone knew who she was because of that, why was this Yukari girl talking to her now when they'd never even exchanged glances before?

"I'm not here to bully you or anything like that, if that's what you're thinking. I don't have any ulterior motives, actually, so please stop looking at me like that," Yukari said quickly, waving her hands around in a nervous sort of way. She didn't seem like the kind of person who even know how to bully someone, though you could never be too sure.

Still, Rin turned her distrusting gaze away and went back to eating with a thoughtful hum. Why did it seem like she always attracted the strangest people? Yukari soon began eating as well, and their conversation became nonexistent for a while. Once the lunch period ended, Yukari packed up her things, gave Rin a quick but friendly goodbye, and headed back to her desk. Rin didn't say anything and went back to what she usually did, thinking to herself, as Luka's lessons started up again, that Yukari was strange yet not exactly unpleasant.

* * *

The day only got weirder after that. Rin sat in her living room at home, flipping through the TV channels for something to watch out of boredom, when suddenly there was a knock on the front door. Confused, Rin got up and walked over to the door, wondering who it could possibly be. They never got any visitors except for the occasional salesperson or, even rarer, one of her mother's friends from work. More than a little curious, Rin opened the door and gave her usual greeting.

"Can I help y-"

Though, as soon as she saw who was standing on the doorstep, she stopped talking and stared in stunned silence. There was IA, carrying her school bag and looking at Rin with her typical blank expression that was always so infuriating. Now, though, the sight of the girl was just unexpected and shocking.

"What are you doing here?" Rin asked, narrowing her eyes after getting over her initial shock.

"I'm here to work on our project. We haven't made any progress at school, so I figured I might as well try coming over," IA replied simply, using that "isn't it obvious" tone that was often present in her voice.

"How the hell do you even know where I live?!" Rin questioned incredulously.

"I just asked a friend of yours earlier, and they told me," IA answered.

Friend? As far as Rin knew, she didn't really have any friends. Though, she didn't think much on it at the moment, choosing instead to try and figure out how to get rid of this pink-haired pest.

"Well, I don't care why or how you got here, I just want you to leave," Rin stated curtly.

"Can't. My parents won't be here to pick me up for another two hours," IA responded.

"Then walk home," Rin retorted.

IA shook her head. "I live too far away for that. Plus, it's dangerous for a girl our age to walk by herself, don't you know that?"

"I do it all the time, and I'm fine," Rin pointed out, sounding increasingly annoyed.

IA frowned slightly. "Your parents allow you to do that?"

"Well, not exactly..." Rin muttered.

"Ah," was IA's only response.

They both fell silent, and IA returned to staring at Rin with this almost expectant gaze. Things went on like this for a good minute or two before Rin groaned in exasperation and stepped back.

"Fine, you can come in, but if you touch anything I'll kick you out into the street," Rin snapped in a clearly annoyed tone. This was stupid, why was she doing this, she felt absolutely dumb. It was too late now, though.

"Thanks," IA said simply while walking inside.

Rin scowled in irritation as she closed the door behind IA, who seemed to be looking around the living room curiously.

"What? Never seen a living room before?" Rin asked sarcastically.

"Never seen yours before," IA responded plainly.

It was these kinds of remarks that irked Rin the most. After all, she couldn't think of a single way to comeback to that.

"It's nice," IA continued after a moment. "It looks like something out of an interior design magazine."

"Might as well be," Rin sighed.

"Why?" IA tilted her head slightly as she asked this.

"My mom's really into decorating and stuff. She doesn't do it much, but when she does, she practically remodels the whole house," Rin answered airily as she flopped down onto the couch once more.

IA gave a thoughtful hum and took a seat on one of the chairs in the living room.

"We need to decide what we're going to do for our project. We haven't even chosen a topic yet, and other groups are already working on their posters or research papers," IA stated, laying her school bag on the coffee table and pulling out a notebook and pen.

"Well, I don't have any ideas," Rin said disinterestedly. She couldn't care less about the dumb project, to be honest.

IA sighed softly and began writing something in her notebook as she spoke. "Music it is, then."

"What?" Rin looked over at her just then.

"The theme is 'ways of expression', so music should work fine, right?" IA explained.

"We are _not_ doing music," Rin said firmly.

"Unless you have any better ideas, I'm not changing it," IA stated, not seeming to care or even take notice of the tone of Rin's voice.

"I'm not going to do a project on music! Not in a million years! So change it!" Rin practically shouted.

"Is there any particular reason why this topic bothers you so much?" IA asked, glancing up from her notebook at Rin.

"It doesn't bother me," Rin responded curtly.

"What a lie," IA muttered.

"It's not a lie!" Rin exclaimed in irritation. Then, so softly it was almost inaudible, she said, "Music has never bothered me at all, I love it too much. That's why I can't do it."

She felt so pitifully weak in that moment that she wanted to curl up and die. Sharing even this tiny piece of importance with IA made her feel like she was completely naked before her, a feeling that was both nauseating and heart-wrenching. It was sickening.

"If you love music so much, then wouldn't you want to do more with it?" IA questioned in a gentle voice, the first real change in her tone that Rin had heard besides the occasional mild irritation that Rin sometimes managed to elicit.

Rin shook her head vigorously, thinking that maybe if she shook it hard enough she'd be able to shake away her emotions as well. "No way. I gave up anything that had to do with music over a year ago."

The reason for this had been that as much as Rin loved music, Miku loved it twice as much. Miku was always singing whenever she could before, and even started writing songs in the few years prior to her hospitalization. Her voice was so light and bubbly that anyone who listened to her couldn't help but smile, and Rin was no exception. Some of her best memories were of her and Miku singing together in front of others at parks or alone in their rooms. So, once Miku was forced to give up music, Rin gave it up as well. She figured it was only right, and anything else would have been selfish on her part.

For some reason, IA frowned at this, and she muttered something Rin couldn't quite hear.

"What?" Rin questioned.

"Nothing. Just saying that I'm still not going to change it," IA replied.

"What?! But didn't I just tell you that I refuse to do a project on music?!" Rin exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes, but you still haven't given me any other suggestions, so it stays," IA pointed out.

Rin was practically steaming at this point, so she stood up and began storming out of the room, calling over her shoulder, "Fine, do whatever the hell you want! But I'm not helping!"

With that, she went into her room down the hall and slammed the door behind her. IA, unphased and even slightly amused, continued writing in her notebook with only one final comment on the conversation.

"I'm still not leaving your house, though."

* * *

 **A/N: I feel like these are becoming monthly updates -_- I'm really trying guys, but time is just not on my side. Speaking of time, I'm going to keep this short for once because it's 12:40 at night where I am right now and I have school tomorrow. Oh, joy~ -n-**

 **So, as always, please tell me what you think of this chapter and the story thus far, I love hearing all of your beautiful opinions~**

 **Goodnight!**


	13. Chapter 12 And A Half

Chapter 12.5

A light knock on the door drew Miku's attention away from the window, and she turned her head to face the direction of the door.

"Come in," she called faintly.

She heard the door open and close a moment later, followed by light footsteps that stopped not far from the edge of her bed.

"How are you?" the person asked softly.

Miku smiled at the sound of their voice, glad to hear such a familiar sound. "I'm fine. But how have you been? It's been a while since your last visit."

"It's only been about a month," the person pointed out.

"Ah, really? It's so hard to tell time when you're cooped up in a room all day," Miku laughed slightly, but it sounded a little hollow.

The person frowned at this. "Is something wrong?"

"Not particularly..." Miku responded slowly. There were lots of things that were wrong, too many to say actually, but she was sure this person was already aware of that.

"I don't believe you," they said, their voice holding both concern and sternness.

"Can't blame you there. Even I wouldn't believe me," Miku sighed.

How long had she been trying to keep her spirits up? Whenever people like Kaito or Rin or even sometimes Meiko came to visit, she tried to act as cheerful and positive as possible. It was for their sake, and maybe even a bit for her own, but it was getting tiring. Especially since things were looking more and more bleak. Though, with this person, she didn't feel as if she really needed to pretend as much. Honestly, it might've been that she was getting so desperate to tell her thoughts to someone that she was willing to confide in just about anyone that would listen.

"Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?" Miku questioned after a moment of hesitation.

"Go ahead," the person replied simply.

"What would you do if I suddenly disappeared one day?" Miku asked.

The person was quiet for a moment, probably not knowing how to respond, before speaking slowly in an almost unsure tone. "I'd probably be sad and cry, and maybe wonder why you had to go..."

Miku closed her eyes and smiled faintly with a soft hum. "I expected as much... If someone like you would even be brought to tears by that, there's no telling what would happen to Kaito or Rin."

They said nothing, so Miku decided to continue.

"I took another test yesterday and got the results back this morning, not long before you came, actually. Apparently, I won't be able to speak soon, and my remaining days are getting limited too," she explained.

"...How long?" the person inquired softly.

Miku smiled sadly at them, not even needing to ask to know that they meant to add "until you die" to the end. "They said anywhere from a month to half a year. It's still too early to tell for sure yet, but depending on how quickly my condition deteriorates, they'll be able to get a better estimate."

"And you want advice?" the person questioned.

"Only on how to break the news to Kaito and Rin. They're the ones I'm worried about the most, after all," Miku answered.

"Well, I'm not particularly close to either of them, and I only really know what you've told me about them," they pointed out.

"I guess that's true," Miku sighed, opening her eyes again despite it not making any difference. "Still, you seem to handle things so well, I feel like you're the only one I can talk to besides my doctors without having to worry about upsetting you too much. Though, I don't really like talking to the doctors all that often..."

"I think I've just become used to things that hurt, that's all," they muttered quietly.

Miku shook her head, thinking back to when she had first met this person. "No, I don't think that's true. You're just a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

She could tell that her words had surprised the person since she heard a faint yet sharp intake of breath, followed by a silence that signaled a loss for words. Even this person, as calm and collected as they were, suffered from weak points that left them feeling numb or frightened, and Miku knew exactly what those weak points were. She gently touched upon them with kindness or gentle gestures that back then had left this person in tears. Even now, she had the feeling that they had the dull ache of wanting to cry weighing in their chest. Everyone was like this, nurtured by Miku's kind words as she accepted each and every one of their individual flaws until they felt comforted and loved, helping them to become the person they wanted to be. It was why everyone cared about her so much, because she had always treated them with care. Though, in that moment, Miku briefly hated herself for extending a kind hand to so many people, only to slap them in the face with the bitter reality of her deteriorating health. If it hadn't been for her almost unbelievable kindness, no one would be grieving over her right now.

"I'm really scared, you know," Miku started in a small, trembling voice. "I don't want to die, but I know that it's for the best. If I continue living like this, all I'll do is bring pain to the people I care about..."

"Miku..." the person said softly.

Miku shook her head, trying to smile even though she felt tears springing to her eyes. She didn't even know she could still cry until now. "No, don't try to tell me I'm wrong. Don't say something like, 'But if you die, we'll all be even more hurt,' or 'Maybe they really will find a way to save you and you can go back to a normal life.' Because I'm so, _so_ sick of optimism like that. It's just stupid to think like that when everyone knows that things will _never_ get better. They just don't want to accept it, so they play dumb and use some sort of excuse to keep hoping for a miracle." Her shoulders began to shake, though whether it was from being on the verge of tears or feeling secretly angry at that false hope everyone clung to, she wasn't sure. "Ah, but I'm a hypocrite, aren't I? I say the same hopeful things over and over again, thinking it'll help the ones I love hold on. But aren't I just destroying them even more this way? Aren't I being unimaginably cruel, dangling the ends of a string in front of them when they're hanging on the edge of a cliff, wanting them to grab it even though I know it won't support their weight?"

A moment of silence filled the room, broken only by Miku's poorly stifled sobs. The person then reached out and gently grasped her hand, causing Miku to look over at them in surprise. Usually, gestures like this were the other way around.

"I think you've just been alone with your thoughts for too long. You've let the guilt of causing people pain get to you, and now you're angry at them for trying to be what you yourself have tried to be your whole life. Optimistic, hopeful, wanting a miracle when everything seems like it'll just crumble away, right? Weren't you the one who told me something like 'No matter how bleak today looks, you should always strive for a better tomorrow'?" they said softly.

Miku, for once, felt the same exact pain that everyone she had ever met felt at least once in their lives: the pain of an unbearably kind gesture trying to pull your broken pieces back together. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she felt ashamed at herself, knowing that what they said was right. How was it that this person, someone she had only truly gotten to know recently, understood her so fully and completely?

"I'm not going to stop you from doing what you want, or try to change any decisions you make. I want you, for once, to be entirely selfish and think about what's best for _you_ , not what's best for anyone else. Not Kaito, not Rin, not me, no one. If you feel like giving up, then go ahead, give up. There's no shame in that, and none of us will think any less of you. But if you want to keep trying to have faith in a better tomorrow along with all of the rest of us, then that's fine too. Both decisions are fine, because we care about you, Miku, just as much as you care about us. You would never think any less of us for something we decided to do, so why should we?" they continued in a reassuring way.

It was the most compassionate Miku had ever seen this person be. Someone who was usually so bad at expressing their feelings properly was now soothing Miku's pains and troubles. She wondered if any of this was her doing, or if they simply had grown into this kind of person in the time between their last visit.

"I'm not sure if I can do that, but... I'll give it a try, at least," Miku hesitantly responded.

"Good. Just remember, everyone has to be a little selfish sometimes. And I think your time for that is way overdue," they stated.

Miku smiled faintly, despite still feeling like doing the exact opposite. "Maybe so..." This was too much, all of this was causing her emotions to be a mess and made her head spin. Not liking this feeling at all, she decided to change the topic. "Hey, tell me about your life since your last visit. I'm sure something's happened since the last time I saw you. Right?"

"Well, I suppose you could say that..." the person muttered, sounding both thoughtful and maybe a tad exasperated.

Miku tilted her head curiously, waiting expectantly for the tale to come, and soon the person began to tell her all about the things that had transpired for them recently. The two of them spent the whole rest of the afternoon catching up, all while their previous conversation weighed heavily on Miku's mind.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, an update that's not after a month of procrastination! Well, I told myself I'd post a new chapter while I still had some time off from school for Thanksgiving, so I did. This chapter is a little different from the others since we now get to see things from Miku's perspective. I realized that Miku hasn't actually made an appearance since the very first chapter, so I figured something like this would be nice. Also, I've decided that every Miku-based chapter is going to have a .5 at the end, sort of like a half chapter.**

 **Well, that's enough rambling for me. I hope you enjoyed this, and please tell me what you think! :) Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

In the days following Meiko's conversation with SeeU, she tried avoiding contact with the blonde-haired girl as best she could. As for Kaito, he never brought up whatever happened between them on that same day, so Meiko didn't ask. Whatever it was, though, it must've been something important, for Kaito always seemed to be thinking of something whenever they hung out.

"Hey, let's go somewhere," Kaito suddenly said while they were sitting in his living room watching a TV show neither was very interested in.

"Go where?" Meiko asked curiously.

"Hmm... I have an idea," Kaito replied as he stood up, walked over to where his coat was hanging, and put it on. He picked up Meiko's coat from where it was hanging not too far away and tossed it to her. "Come with me."

Meiko didn't have a chance to ask for an explanation, for Kaito had already opened the front door and was heading outside. Meiko quickly slipped on her coat and followed him, shutting the apartment door behind her.

"Where are we going?" Meiko questioned once she caught up to her dark blue-haired friend.

"You'll see," was Kaito's only response.

It was late in the evening, with the sun barely visible over the horizon, so the temperature had dropped considerably. Meiko shivered slightly as she and Kaito walked along the city's sidewalks, heading in a direction that sparked a faint sense of familiarity in Meiko. She still wasn't entirely sure where they were heading, but she had the feeling that they had gone to this place before. Once they had finally arrived at their destination, the sun had completely vanished from the sky and the glow of stars was beginning to shine. Meiko looked around curiously at her surroundings, trying to figure out why Kaito had brought her here. They were in an old park that seemed a little neglected, with some visible rust on the nearby swings and the grass longer than the typical length. A small pond not too far away had many weed-like plants sprouting in it, along with a bottle or too floating across the surface. Even still, under the dim light of a flickering street lamp, it looked like a pleasant little park.

"Do you remember this place?" Kaito asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the area.

After looking around a bit more, recognition dawned on Meiko's face and she turned her gaze to Kaito in surprise. "This is where we first met, isn't it?"

Kaito nodded. "Yeah. It's not as pretty as it was back then, but it's still nice in its own way."

Meiko hesitated for a moment, before slowly saying, "Kaito, why did you bring me here?"

Kaito looked back at her briefly, then returned his gaze to the small pond that looked like a black pool in the dim lighting. "Before I answer that, I want you to remember exactly how we met. Tell me everything you remember."

Meiko thought this request was a little strange, especially since Kaito had never been very interested in dwelling on the past, but she began to tell him whatever she could think of from that time anyway.

"It was the summer before we started middle school, I think... I came to this park with my parents, which I did a lot back then since I got lonely as an only child. For a while, I just ran around on my own and did whatever, but then I noticed you sitting all by yourself. I think you were sitting under a tree. When I went over and asked you why you were all alone, you said you were watching your sister and her friend while your parents went to get you all something to drink. I didn't have anything better to do, and I thought you looked lonely, so I decided I'd sit with you until they came back. We ended up talking and becoming friends after that, and that's really all I know," Meiko recalled.

Kaito gave a thoughtful hum. "And then we ended up going to the same middle school, right?"

"Yeah, we had our first class of the day together," Meiko replied then gave a small laugh. "I remember how relieved I was to see a familiar face. I even chose to sit right next to you, remember that?"

"Yeah, I remember," Kaito answered with a small smile.

"The teacher got mad at us all the time because we were always talking to each other," Meiko continued, looking back on it fondly. Though, the smile on her face slowly fell away as she once again wondered why Kaito had brought her here. "Kaito, will you tell me why we're here now? It's not that remembering old times isn't good, it's actually pretty nice to think about when we were kids, but I don't think that's the real reason you brought me here."

Kaito was silent for a minute, then he sighed and turned to look at Meiko. "I brought you here, Meiko, because I thought it would remind you of how long we've known each other. And it did."

"Why would you want to remind me of that?" Meiko asked confusedly.

"Because I thought that would prove just how much trust we should have in each other. We should be able to share everything with each other, everything from a soda to our deepest, most innermost thoughts and feelings. I thought we did, too, up until a few days ago," Kaito began.

"What do you mean?" Meiko questioned. She couldn't think of anything she was hiding from him, except... Her eyes widened as she realized what he might be refering to. "Kaito, are you talking about...?"

"I know you've started drinking again," Kaito said, knowing what Meiko wanted to ask without her even finishing her sentence. He paused briefly, glancing at Meiko to see her scared expression, before looking away and continuing. "But what I don't know is why. You didn't tell me that night, so I'm hoping you can tell me now."

"I..." Meiko started in a small voice.

This was bad, he was the last person she wanted to know about that. She wanted to look strong and reliable since Kaito needed her now more than ever, but now he knew the truth.

"I realize that you probably don't remember what I said to you that night, so I'll give you a short reminder. I don't believe that the Meiko I know would give up such ideals just like that and return to her old ways. You're such a strong person, Meiko, and I know that I wouldn't be anywhere without you. That's why I want you to tell me why you've started drinking again, so I can help you," Kaito stated.

"...I'm not..." Meiko got out barely above a whisper.

"Huh?" Kaito looked at her in confusion.

"I'm not as strong as you think I am. In fact, I'm hardly strong at all. All this pressure to keep you happy after Miku's illness developed, all this faith you have in me to be someone you can rely on, I just couldn't deal with it, so I..." Meiko rambled before her voice trembled and faded out. "So I thought, 'Hey, if alcohol helped me with my problems before, why not now?'"

"Meiko..." Kaito wasn't sure what else to say. He was stunned by what Meiko had told him.

"I'm sorry, I know it's wrong, but it was the only thing I could think of. I just didn't want to let you down, because you're my best friend and I know you need me right now," Meiko choked out as tears started to form in her eyes. "And now everything's so much worse. I've disappointed you, Miku's going to die soon-"

"What?" Kaito cut her off abruptly.

Meiko's eyes widened as she realized her mistake, and she quickly tried to backtrack. "What I meant was, um, Miku is... she is..."

 _Damn it, why can't I think of a single thing to say?_ Meiko wondered as panic began to well up inside her. Things were bad enough as is, but if Kaito found out now what SeeU had shared with her, it was going to get a lot worse. Meiko wished at that moment she could just crawl in a hole and die.

"Meiko, don't lie to me. I'm sick of that," Kaito said, his face suddenly taking on a very serious look.

Meiko stared at him for a few seconds, then she sighed and averted her gaze. "The other day I met SeeU at a cafe, and she told me something. She told me... well, she told me Miku doesn't have much longer to live."

Kaito looked as if he had just been stabbed in the chest, but Meiko forced herself to keep going anyway.

"Apparently, the results of the latest test Miku took said that she's going to lose her ability to speak, and then she'll die anytime between one to six months. I didn't want you to have to find out this way, but I suppose you had to know eventually..." Meiko explained in a soft voice.

"And there's nothing that can be done?" Kaito questioned. His voice sounded so fragile, almost like it could break at any moment.

Meiko shook her head slowly. "I'm so, so sorry..." She brought her hands to her eyes to try to wipe away the tears, but all she managed to do was make them fall faster.

Kaito looked like her was in a daze for a minute, before his expression hardened into one of anger. "What do you mean there's nothing that can be done?! They're doctors, aren't they?! It's their job to cure people!"

"Kaito..." Meiko stared at him, stunned by his sudden outburst.

"They can't just give up and say she's going to die! I bet they haven't even tried everything yet!" Kaito yelled.

"They're doing the best they can-"

"That's not true! If they were doing their best Miku would be cured by now! But no, she's still locked up in that damn hospital when she should be home!" Kaito continued to rant.

"Kaito-"

"Stop trying to lie to me, Meiko! You want to tell me that there really isn't anything to be done, right? You want to convince me to give up, right? There's no way in hell I'm going to-"

"Kaito, that's enough!" Meiko shouted, finally getting Kaito to stop.

Kaito blinked in surprise, having never seen or heard Meiko so distraught before.

"You need to stop this, Kaito. I understand that you care about Miku, and so do I, but you have to realize that this is how things are. You knew from the start that she wasn't going to make it, that's why it's called a _terminal_ illness, yet you didn't want to believe that. And that's okay, because no one wants to believe that someone they love is going to die. But it's time for you to face the truth now. It's time for you to accept the fact that Miku can't be saved," Meiko stated, wanting desperately for Kaito to finally understand.

Though, as she said all of this, SeeU's words from the other day rang through her mind. _She's probably come to terms with the fact that she won't get better by now, and most of the time when patients realize this they feel like death isn't such a bad thing. It ends the suffering for both them and their loved ones, even if it ends up breaking a few people sometimes._ SeeU had told her pretty much the exact same things Meiko was telling Kaito now, and yet Meiko had gotten mad at her for saying such a thing. Meiko supposed that even she didn't want to accept the fact that Miku's life was finally coming to an end.

"I was in denial too, you know," Meiko continued softly. "I thought that if I pretended there was some chance of Miku being cured it would happen, and we could all go back to being happy and carefree like we used to be. I thought maybe I'd get to see you smile again, and we could tell stupid jokes while eating ice cream in the summer like we'd done for years. Wishful thinking, I know, but for a while I actually believed that. I guess I'm only just coming to terms with things myself now."

"I won't believe it," Kaito insisted, but his voice was trembling and his head was lowered so that Meiko couldn't see his face.

Meiko smiled softly, a smile void of amusement and actual joy, showing only pitying sympathy. "Even though I don't believe any of that anymore, I still want us to be able to laugh and eat ice cream like that. Even if it's a world with one less person in it, I've got a new belief that we can still be happy and enjoy things like we used to. Don't you believe that, too?"

"...How can you just talk about Miku dying like it's nothing? Don't you care about her at all?" Kaito asked with rage surfacing in his voice once more.

"Of course I care about Miku. I care about her enough to see now that death will finally bring her some relief. After suffering for over a year, I'm sure she's glad to have it end soon," Meiko replied gently.

"Miku would never want to die! She loves life too much for that!" Kaito shouted.

"Miku doesn't want to die, she just wants this agony to stop. For you, for me, for everyone, including herself. I'm certain she wants all of it to just be over," Meiko persisted.

"But..." Kaito trailed off.

Meiko walked over to him and brought him into a comforting hug, taking Kaito by surprise.

"I know it'll be really hard for a long time, but I think we'll be okay. We've got SeeU with us again to drag us on fun excursions even when we don't feel like it, we've got each other to rely on like we have for years. Somehow, I think we'll manage to get through everything just fine," Meiko said reassuringly.

Kaito, unable to stand it anymore, broke down in tears as the realization finally set in. Miku, his precious little sister, would no longer be with him soon. The thought was unbearable, but it was the truth. Meiko tightened the embrace and felt herself be brought close to tears. _Don't worry, Kaito,_ she thought, _I promise I'll always be here for you._

* * *

 **A/N: MERRY (LATE) CHRISTMAS/HAPPY NEW YEAR! I finally found some motivation and wrote up this chapter for you all as a gift :) It kinda turned out a little sadder than I originally planned, but my wonderful proofreader said it was good so here ya go. This is also my longest chapter so far, so I think (I hope) this makes up for my lack of updates. I'm really trying, I swear, but school and lack of inspiration makes updating kind of a challenge ;n; I think I say the same things every time I post a new chapter. Oh well...**

 **Please let me know what you think, and have an awesome day/night/whatever!**


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Rin, get up. It's time for lunch."

"Leave me alone, IA. I'm still pissed that you came over to my house last night," Rin muttered groggily. She had fallen asleep in class again, this time dream free, and had received a rather unwelcome awakening.

IA frowned and, after thinking for a moment, she pulled Rin's chair away from her desk, causing Rin to nearly topple over. Rin quickly turned her head to give the pink-haired girl a look that could kill.

"What the hell was that for?!" Rin practically shouted.

"Keep your voice down, or Ms. Luka will get mad at you again," IA calmly berated her.

"Like I care," Rin grumbled with a huff.

IA sighed softly. "Anyway, let's go get lunch. If we don't hurry, all the good things will be gone."

"Huh?"

Though, before Rin could ask why they were getting lunch from the cafeteria instead of what they usually did, IA grabbed her wrist and began dragging her out of the classroom. Rin gave many loud (and some obscene) protests, but in the end IA managed to successfully pull her to the food line in the cafeteria.

"Let go of me!" Rin yelled and, with one last good tug, she freed her wrist from IA's grasp. It wasn't like it even mattered anymore, though, considering she was exactly where IA wanted her to be.

"When we get to the front, choose anything you want. I'll pay for it," IA said suddenly.

Rin blinked a few times in mild surprise, before a familiar look of irritation formed on her face. "I don't need your money. I'm not poor, you know."

"I know that. I went to your house, remember?" IA responded.

"How could I forget?" Rin muttered while reflecting on the previous evening in annoyance. "So, if you know I'm not poor, why are you offering to buy my lunch?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm almost certain you didn't bring any money with you, because you usually don't have a need for it," IA started.

She had a point, but it wasn't like Rin was going to admit that.

"And secondly, it's just the nice thing to do," IA continued simply.

"Didn't I tell you once before that I don't want your kindness?" Rin asked curtly, narrowing her eyes at the pink-haired girl.

IA ignored Rin's comment and moved forward in the line, finally arriving at the food station. She picked out what she wanted and put it on a tray, before turning to look at her blonde-haired companion.

"What do you want, Rin?" IA questioned.

"Nothing," Rin replied firmly.

IA frowned slightly and pulled Rin's arm to bring the girl closer to the array of food options, causing Rin to yelp and give IA a displeased look.

"Choose," IA said simply while gesturing to the variety of foods laid out before them.

Rin scowled but grabbed a random package of sandwiches anyway. The sooner she got this over with, the better. IA, seemingly satisfied, added Rin's item to her tray and led them over to the place where they could pay.

"Can you hold this for a second while I get my money out of my bag?" IA asked, holding out the tray to Rin.

"Whatever," Rin muttered while taking the tray from IA.

IA smiled softly then rumaged through her bag for the correct amount of money. Once she had enough, she handed it to the cashier and turned back to Rin.

"Thanks," IA said as she took the tray of food back.

"I didn't do that much, you know," Rin responded, still annoyed by this whole situation.

Though, as they started walking off to find somewhere to sit, she remembered the question she wanted to ask earlier.

"Hey, don't you normally bring your lunch?" Rin pointed out.

IA nodded. "Yeah."

"So why didn't you bring your lunch today?" Rin asked.

"I wanted us to sit with Yukari, and she always buys her lunch on Wednesdays," IA answered simply.

"Why do you know that?" Rin was a little creeped out by the fact that IA knew this when, as far as Rin knew, the two girls never spoke to each other.

"Because Yukari's my cousin," IA replied, not seeming to notice Rin's creeped out tone.

"Really?" Rin asked, surprised. "If she's your cousin, then why don't you two ever hang out at lunch or anything like that?"

For a moment, IA seemed slightly hesitant, before she casually shrugged. "I never thought about it before, and Yukari has her own group of friends, so we just never did."

"And what made you think about it now?" Rin questioned, looking at IA with a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement.

IA sent her a sideways glance as she pushed open the doors leading out into the courtyard. "Yukari told me last night that she became friends with you yesterday."

"She told you what?!" Rin exclaimed incredulously.

"She said that you two ate lunch together, and that you didn't even yell at her or anything. I'd say that's a friendship, at least with you anyway," IA explained simply.

"Hold on a minute, what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Rin growled in irritation.

"Oh look, there's Yukari. Yukari!" IA called, ignoring Rin's last question.

Yukari looked over at the duo at the sound of her name and offered them a small smile. "Oh, it's IA and Rin. What are you two doing out here?"

"Do you mind if we sit with you today?" IA asked.

Yukari blinked, surprised, then smiled meakly again. "That's fine with me." She then turned to look at the other people sitting with her. "Is that alright with you guys?"

There were four other people sitting at the table in the courtyard with Yukari. To Yukari's left was a girl with long red hair topped off by an unusually large ahoge, and beside her was a silver-haired boy who was considerably lacking in height. Across from them was a girl with green hair that was cut shorter in the back than it was in the front, with two long pieces in the front falling over her shoulders at each side. Sitting to the right of the green-haired girl was a petite girl with somewhat bright blue hair that gradiated to purple near the end. Rin had the vague feeling she had taken note of some of these people on the first day (probably because of their unique appearances), but she hadn't bothered to remember their names.

"Sure, I don't see why not," the girl with green hair replied first, giving Rin and IA a friendly smile.

The rest gave nods of agreement or simple statements of "that's fine", giving the two outsiders their approval. IA set her tray down next to the blue-haired girl and gestured for Rin to join her.

"You're Rin Kagamine, right?" the red-haired girl inquired as Rin sat down. She didn't seem to hold any sort of malice, just curiosity.

"Yeah, what about it?" Rin responded a bit warily.

The red-haired girl giggled, causing Rin to raise an eyebrow questioningly.

"Don't mind her, Rin. She's just excited to meet someone new. That, and she thinks you're pretty interesting," the silver-haired boy explained plainly, elbowing the girl beside him to get her to stop giggling.

The way he spoke was similar to IA's way of speaking, only his voice was more quiet while hers was more monotone.

"Interesting?" Rin repeated, her eyes starting to narrow a little. _I didn't come out here to be mocked,_ she thought in irritation.

"After your, um, outburst a few days ago, Miki's taken a sort of interest in you," the girl with green hair began a bit tentatively, as if carefully choosing her words. "In a way, you could say it's kind of Miki's hobby to befriend people others think are a little strange."

Rin let out an annoyed huff and began munching on her sandwich, observing her new companions with mild curiosity. They were a group she had seen hanging out together quite a few times, and they seemed to mostly distance themselves from the rest of the class. Rin figured she could probably classify them as the "loner types" that clung to each other for support, different from the kind of loners that she and IA were. They were probably outcasts due to rejection from the popular part of society, Rin and IA were simply outcasts by choice.

"Um, don't you think we should introduce ourselves?" the blue-haired girl pointed out. Her voice was soft and sweet, higher than the other girls'.

"Oh, right! My name's Miki, I hope we can be great friends!" the red-haired girl, Miki, chirped.

 _That's probably not going to happen,_ Rin thought with a small scowl.

"I'm Piko Utatane," the silver-haired boy, now known as Piko, added simply.

"I'm Aoki Lapis, it's nice to meet you both," Lapis, the blue-haired girl, smiled sweetly at them.

"And I'm Gumi Megpoid, good to meet ya," the girl with green hair, Gumi, finished.

"My name's IA, and you already know Rin. It's nice to meet you all, too," IA introduced herself before gesturing to her blonde-haired companion.

"Hey, I can introduce myself, you know!" Rin snapped.

"There's no point. They already know who you are, I just did that out of formality," IA responded plainly.

Rin made an irritated noise that was somewhere between a growl and a hum before returning to her sandwich. It wasn't half bad for school food.

"So, what made you decided to eat out here with us today?" Yukari asked, directing the question more toward IA than Rin.

"Just felt like it, I guess," IA replied offhandedly.

"I see..." Yukari mumbled thoughtfully.

"Turns out you told her we became friends yesterday," Rin said, sounding like she was accusing Yukari of a horrible crime.

"Huh? I did...?" Yukari seemed to be thinking for a moment before she remembered. "Ah, that's right! Oh, um, was I not supposed to say that? I-If it makes things any better, I don't think I used the word 'friends'!"

"It doesn't," Rin stated flatly.

"Ahh, I'm really sorry! I-I just thought that since, you know, you didn't seem that bothered by me it meant we were sort of friends..." Yukari trailed off nervously.

Rin looked at Yukari curiously. Even though IA said they were related, the two of them couldn't be more different. They didn't look like each other, they certainly didn't act like each other, but Rin supposed that since they were only cousins that wasn't too surprising. Still, it was interesting to see.

Rin sighed. "Quit acting like that. It's not like I'm going to kill you or anything like that."

"O-Oh..." Yukari blinked in surprise before smiling sheepishly. "Right, sorry about that."

"And quit apologizing, too. It's getting annoying," Rin added with a point look.

Upon noticing Rin's gaze, Yukari nodded quickly. "Got it!"

"Silly Yuka, there's no need to be intimidated by Ri~" Miki commented in a singsong voice.

"Ri?" Rin echoed, confused.

"Miki likes to give people nicknames. We all have one," Gumi explained.

"Mmhmm! Yukari is Yuka, Piko is Pi, Gumi is Mimi, Lapis is Lapi, and Rin is Ri!" Miki chirped. Then, she paused and hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm, but what should IA be? Her name is so short I don't have much to work with..."

"You can call me Aria, if you want," IA said while stirring her cup of yogurt.

"Aria it is then!" Miki grinned happily.

Rin was tempted to ask where the name Aria came from, but she decided not to in favor of staying out of the conversation. She was hardly listening to what they were saying after that, her attention being focused instead on her surroundings. Winter was on the way, meaning it was getting colder out. Soon, it'd be too cold to wear shorts anymore, which kind of sucked. Rin liked her simple hoodie, shorts, and tennis shoes combination. Not that she particularly cared about clothes, though. _It's a nice day outside..._ Rin thought to herself, watching the branches of trees sway in the breeze. Somehow, sitting out here like this, having lunch with people she hardly knew but wasn't entirely against, brought a small trace of a good feeling into her life.

* * *

 **A/N: What's this? An update that hasn't taken me over a month? What kind of magic is this?! Haha no but seriously this is really good for me, and probably the only reason why this update was so fast is because I wrote three chapters all at once the last time I updated. Sorry if there's any mistakes with the spelling/grammar (there shouldn't be since someone read this over for me a week ago) but I don't really have time to check. I'm working on a project for school right now so I'm super busy ;n; Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please tell me what you think! Your support fuels me to keep writing!**

 **Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The final bell of the day rang, giving the signal for kids to go home. In a matter of minutes, the classroom was empty, save for the teacher and two students. Rin was shoving a notebook into her bag when IA walked over to her, causing Rin to involuntarily scowl.

"What is it now, IA?" Rin asked. It was the end of the day, couldn't IA just give her a break already?

"I just wanted to ask if you walk home from school," IA replied.

Rin looked up at her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Sometimes I do. Why do you wanna know?"

"Are you walking home today?" IA inquired, ignoring Rin's question.

"I was planning on it, yeah. But seriously, what's it to you?" Rin responded.

"I want to walk with you," IA said plainly.

"Absolutely not," Rin refused flatly while slinging her now packed bag over her shoulder and beginning to walk off.

"Why not?" IA asked, following after her blonde-haired companion.

"Because I don't want you coming over to my house again!" Rin answered. She could feel her irritation growing by the second.

IA made sure to match her pace with Rin's quick one so she wouldn't lose her. "But we have to get our project done. It's due in two weeks, and we've hardly done anything yet."

"I don't really care," Rin stated.

The two made their way through the halls, heading towards the front entrance of the school. The whole way IA continued pestering Rin about coming over and getting their assignment done, which did nothing but put Rin in an even more foul mood.

"But Rin, this project is very important to our grades. If we don't do it, then-"

Suddenly, IA stopped talking mid-sentence. This was pretty unusual for IA, the girl who never seemed fazed by anything, so Rin couldn't help being curious. When she turned around to look at her, though, Rin saw that IA's eyes were wide and she seemed to be staring at something not too far away.

"Uh, IA? What's up?" Rin asked, confused.

IA said nothing, and, now that Rin thought about it, she actually looked a little scared. Rin turned back around to see if she could figure out what IA was looking at, and she noticed three girls standing by the lockers a little ways away. Upon closer inspection, Rin realized it was Lapis and two other girls from their class. Even though Rin didn't usually take note of anyone's names, these two girls were rather hard not to take note of. They were Teto Kasane and Neru Akita, two of the most notorious girls in Rin's grade. They had a certain pastime of mockery and fighting, so even with as volatile as Rin was, she thought it best to stay out of their way. What she didn't understand, though, was why Lapis was with them.

"Hey there, Lapis. Heard you got a cool new phone the other day," Teto started.

"O-Oh, yeah, I did," Lapis responded quietly.

"You know, we'd love to see it. We wanna see if it's better than ours," Neru commented.

"I'm sure it's not! I-I mean, it's nothing special, really..." Lapis said quickly.

"C'mon, just let us see it already," Neru persisted, holding out her hand in a gesture that said "hand it over right now".

Lapis looked distraught, and her gaze was darting around the area as if searching for an escape route. Rin glanced back at IA and noticed she was holding onto her bag strap pretty tightly.

"Stop it..." IA said so quietly it was almost inaudible.

Rin wasn't really sure what to do, so she merely returned to watching the three girls.

"We don't have all day, you know," Teto stated with clear irritation in her face and voice.

"U-Um, I really do have to get home soon, so I'd appreciate it if-"

"Hey, you're not going anywhere!" Neru snapped, causing Lapis to let out a scared squeak and shy away from the taller girl.

"We're not asking for much, just let us see your stupid phone. Is your brain really so dumb it can't even process a simple request?" Teto sneered.

"Please, j-just let me go home..." Lapis whimpered, clutching her bag close to her chest.

"I said you aren't going anywhere!" Neru practically shouted with evident frustration.

She raised her hand to hit Lapis, when all of a sudden a blur of pink came between them. A loud _smack_ sound reverberated off of the walls, and it took a moment for Rin to realize that Neru had just slapped IA across the face. Despite a red mark quickly forming on her right cheek, IA stood firmly between Neru and Lapis, a stern look on her face.

"What the hell are you doing? Move out of the way," Neru growled.

"No," IA replied firmly.

"Uh, hello? Who the hell do you think you are?" Teto asked with a faint trace of amusement in her voice.

"Someone who's trying to be a good person, unlike the two of you," IA answered coolly.

 _I've never seen IA look at someone so... coldly before,_ Rin thought to herself in surprise. _It's honestly a little scary... It's like watching an overprotective mother stand up for her child. Still, IA, you're being really dumb right now. You can't intimidate those girls!_ Without Rin even realizing it, she felt a small pang of worry while watching IA try to stand up to them.

Neru scowled. "You're just asking to get hit again, aren't you?"

Neru began to raise her hand again to start a second attack on IA, but before she could she was interrupted but a sudden shout.

"If you lay a hand on either of them again, I'm going to kick both of your asses!"

Neru and Teto turned around at this and were surprised to see Rin glaring at them menacingly.

"Look, it's that crazy girl from our class," Teto pointed out in a condescending tone.

"Ugh, seriously? She's so insane she probably brought a gun with her or something," Neru stated, looking rather annoyed.

"If that's the case, I don't think we can beat her..." Teto muttered.

The two turned back around to face IA and Lapis once more.

"You two are lucky your psycho friend is here, or else we would've beaten you both up on the spot," Neru snapped. "We're leaving now, but don't think this means you're off the hook. We _will_ get you when crazy over there isn't here to protect you."

With that, Teto and Neru turned and briskly walked off toward the front gates, giving a final call of "Later, losers!" over their shoulders. Lapis, who had been shaking like a leaf the whole time, leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the ground, her face as white as a sheet. IA kneeled down beside her and began telling her soothing things to calm her down, reminding Rin of Miku for a moment.

Rin sighed as she walked over to her two companions. "Guess we should thank my horrible reputation for that, huh?" After she said this, though, she frowned and muttered, "But does everyone seriously think I'm crazy enough that I would bring a gun to school?"

"Not everyone. The others and I have never thought you're as bad as everyone says you are," Lapis stated, then she smiled faintly. "In fact, now I see you're actually a really good person."

"Huh? What makes you say that?" Rin asked, confused.

"Well, you stood up for us when you could've just stood by and watched," Lapis replied, her voice now sweet and devoid of terror.

Rin let out an indifferent huff and shoved her hands into the pockets on her hoodie. "Let's just say there's a certain someone who wouldn't forgive me if I did something like that."

"I wouldn't forgive you either. I absolutely despise bullying. It's so pointless, all it does is injure others for someone else's sick pleasure," IA said bitterly.

Rin stared at her for a moment (was IA actually... scowling?), before turning her gaze to Lapis for lack of anything to say.

"So, why were they so intent on seeing your phone anyway?" Rin inquired.

"Oh... Well, you see, I got a new phone recently, and it's really nice. It's actually the latest model that only came out a few days ago. Teto and Neru heard about it, and since it's better than their's they got mad. You know how they are, always wanting to be and have the best of everything. So, I knew that if I gave it to them, they'd just break it. But I didn't want that, I promised my parents I'd take really good care of my phone since it's my first one," Lapis explained quietly while taking her phone out of her bag and turning it over in her hands.

"What a dumb reason. People are seriously so stupid sometimes," Rin stated with clear annoyance.

Lapis blinked a few times, then let out a small, soft laugh. "Yeah, I suppose it is pretty dumb, isn't it?"

Rin paused to think for a moment, then she asked, "Hey, Lapis, which way is your house from here?"

"Huh? Oh, um, you turn left when you exit the gates," Lapis replied with a puzzled look. "Why do you ask?"

"Perfect, same direction as mine. Well, let's get going then," Rin said simply before starting toward the gates.

"What?" Lapis was thoroughly confused by this.

IA smiled softly, stood up, and held out a hand toward Lapis. "What Rin's saying is she wants you to walk home with us. She's probably worried about you."

"I am not!" Rin shouted without turning around.

Lapis smiled once again and accepted IA's hand. Once she was pulled to her feet, she and IA hurried to catch up with Rin, who was already almost halfway out the gates.

"Thank you very much for allowing me to walk with you, Rin! I've never walked home with someone before," Lapis thanked her happily.

"Whatever..." Rin muttered in response.

As they walked, Rin glanced over her shoulder at IA and Lapis, who were chatting amiably behind her. A small smile found its way onto Rin's face, and she returned her gaze to looking forward as one thought went through her mind. _I wonder if Miku would be proud of me now..._

* * *

 **A/N: Hey look, it's another reasonable update! Haha but seriously don't get used to this, because this is the last pre-written chapter I had. So, we're starting to get into a big part of the background for a few characters now. I'm not going to say exactly how since that'd kind of be spoiling things for later on, but just keep this chapter in mind, okay? I'll probably end up going back to it, or relating something else to it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please tell me what you think, it does good for my inspiration haha :)**

 **Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Kaito was sitting in his living room when a knock on the door caught his attention. He knew who it was even before the door opened, but he decided to ask who was there anyway.

"It's me. Can I come in?" Meiko's familiar voice answered.

Kaito gave her permission, and the door opened to reveal his brown-haired friend. Meiko entered the apartment, shut the door behind her, and sat down on the couch beside Kaito.

"How are you feeling?" Meiko asked gently.

It had been two days since that night in the park, and Meiko had decided to give Kaito some space during that time. She figured it was best to let him think about things on his own so that he could fully come to terms with all of it.

Kaito shrugged airily. "As fine as I can be, I guess."

Meiko smiled faintly. "That's good to hear. I was worried you wouldn't handle all of this too well, but it turns out you're coping pretty well." Then, she added jokingly, "I guess you aren't a crybaby anymore, huh?"

Kaito rolled his eyes, but a small smile had found its way onto his face. "Oh, shut up. Quit teasing me about that already."

"Alright, alright, I'll stop," Meiko laughed. She paused for a moment to let her laughter subside, then she asked, "So, have you gone to see Miku recently?"

"Not since the day you told me about her dying soon," Kaito replied, veering his gaze to the small coffee table in his living room. "It's weird, for some reason I'm kind of afraid to go see her. It's like... I don't know, it's like I'm not sure what I'd say to her even if I went."

"I think that's probably pretty normal, honestly. I mean, I wouldn't know what to say either," Meiko pointed out with a small, reassuring smile.

Kaito sighed. "I guess. Still, I'm not really sure what to do. I know I can't mope about here forever, but that's honestly all I feel like doing."

"Hmm..." Meiko hummed thoughtfully before getting an idea. "Hey, why don't we go see Miku right now? Visiting hours are still going on, aren't they?"

Kaito blinked in mild surprise at the suggestion. "Yeah, they are, but don't you hate hospitals? I thought that was the reason why you never go in to see Miku."

"Well, that's true, but I think I can stand it long enough to go with you. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I wasn't there with you for moral support?" Meiko responded with a slightly sheepish smile.

"Not a very good one, I guess," Kaito replied, a faint trace of amusement in his voice.

Meiko may have been a brash and sometimes even selfish kid, but she had grown into a rather mature and caring adult. Kaito tried to remember if she had been this way before Miku's illness developed, but it was hard to tell. After all, they were just at the beginning of adulthood even now, what with Meiko being twenty-one and Kaito being a few months younger at twenty years old. Honestly, before Miku was hospitalized they were both still acting like kids.

"So, let's get going. If we don't hurry, it won't be visiting hours anymore," Meiko stated as she got up from the couch.

"Alright then," Kaito agreed, standing up as well.

They exited Kaito's appartment and headed off toward the hospital, which was in reasonable walking distance. Autumn had passed by in a blur, bringing the oncoming winter on cool breezes and cloudy skies. Kaito wondered just how cold it would get this year, but it was still too early to tell. He figured that as soon as November came around, winter would begin to truly show. Kaito glanced over at Meiko as they approached the doors leading into the hospital and saw that she looked a little apprehensive. As soon as Meiko noticed his gaze, though, she hid her apprehension with a smile. Another brave front, obviously. They made their way up to Miku's room, and, taking a moment to ready himself, Kaito opened the door. The familiar image of Miku's figure outlined by pale afternoon sunlight streaming through the window entered Kaito's vision, causing him to hesitate in the doorway. That long teal hair, those blue eyes that used to be so bright, why was it so painful to look at all of a sudden?

"Hmm? Who is it?" Miku asked, her voice as sweet and lilted as always.

"I-It's me, Kaito," Kaito replied, having to clear his throat in the middle of speaking to keep his voice steady.

A smile immediately spread across Miku's face at this. "Kaito! You didn't visit me yesterday or the day before that, so I was getting worried. Usually you come to see me every day."

"Yeah... Yeah, I know. Sorry about that," Kaito sighed.

He walked into the room fully with Meiko following after him. Miku noticed the extra set of footsteps and looked over in the direction they came from.

"Who's with you, Kaito?" Miku questioned curiously.

"Meiko. You remember her, right?" Kaito responded.

"Of course I remember Meiko! I haven't been here _that_ long!" Miku exclaimed with a laugh. "But wow, I haven't seen you in a while Meiko. How have you been? Still looking after my brother?"

Meiko chuckled. "I've been good. And yes, I'm still looking after him."

"That's good. We both know Kaito can be pretty helpless on his own sometimes," Miku commented.

"Hey, don't you start teasing me too!" Kaito said in exasperation.

Miku giggled; it was times like these that she missed the most. Pointless, meaningless sibling mockery and annoyance that amounted to nothing. Even with how stupid it was, Miku loved it all the same.

"You know, Miku, your brother's actually been surprisingly strong recently," Meiko started.

Miku looked up at her and blinked. "Really?"

Meiko nodded. "Yep. It's a shocker, I know, but he's been taking some really bad news considerably well."

"Bad news...?" Miku echoed, tilting her head in confusion.

Kaito exchanged looks with Meiko, before he sighed and sat down on the edge of Miku's bed. "Meiko told me about the results of your latest test... about the fact that you don't have much longer to live."

Miku's eyes widened at this, but Kaito continued before she could speak.

"That's the reason why I didn't visit you for a few days. I was just trying to wrap my head around everything, and I think I'm still trying to understand it. A world without you in it... god, I can't even imagine that," Kaito shook his head toward the end and fell silent.

Miku didn't say anything for a moment, then she smiled faintly, almost sadly. "I meant to tell you myself, but I guess Meiko beat me to it, huh?"

"It was sort of an accident. Sorry," Meiko apologized sheepishly.

"No, it's fine. I honestly wasn't even sure how I was going to tell him anyway. It's not exactly a topic you can just easily bring up in a conversation," Miku laughed dryly, devoid of humor.

There was a strange expression on her face, a mixture of relief and sadness. Kaito wasn't sure why she had such an expression, but he thought maybe it was because talking about the deadline on her life made it seem much more real than before.

"I guess you're right about that," Meiko agreed with a soft sigh.

This was also one of the reasons Kaito didn't want to visit Miku after hearing about the news. The room had such an awkward, depressing atmosphere, it was almost maddening. He realized that he was sick of these sadness-filled visits. Kaito just wanted his last few months with his little sister to be happy, so he could look back on the time with more good memories than bad.

"Alright, enough of this," Kaito suddenly said, drawing the attention of his two female companions.

"Huh?" Miku blinked in confusion.

"I'm tired of these sad conversations. If we can't change what happens to you in the future, then we might as well change our attitudes. There's no use moping about it," Kaito stated plainly.

Meiko and Miku stared at him in surprise for a moment, then they both broke into amused smiles.

"Well, would you look at that? Kaito's turned into an optimist," Meiko commented with a grin.

Miku laughed softly. "Wow, you just keep surprising me today, Kaito!"

Kaito huffed indifferently. "Cut it out, you two."

"Okay, sorry," Miku apologized, though she was still smiling. "But you're right, you know. About changing our attitudes."

"Well, there really isn't much for you to change, Miku. You've been really optimistic this whole time," Kaito pointed out.

Miku's smile faltered slightly, but fixed itself so quickly it was almost impossible to notice. "Yeah, I guess that's true, huh?"

Kaito shook his head in bewilderment. "Seriously, it's unbelievable how after all this time you've remained so cheerful, Miku. I almost envy you."

"It's just what I do. After all, I still have to look after you as your loving little sister," Miku laughed a bit sheepishly.

"Hey, who's the adult here?" Kaito said, exasperation beginning to show in his voice.

Miku merely chuckled again in response. Suddenly, a look of rememberance formed on Meiko's face, and she turned her gaze to Kaito.

"Oh, I just remembered that there's something I need to do," Meiko started as she began to walk over to the door. She paused in the doorway to send the two siblings a small smile. "It won't take me long, but if you finish up here before I'm done then wait for me in the lobby, okay, Kaito?"

"Sure, but where are you going?" Kaito asked.

"I need to go apologize to someone," Meiko replied vaguely then exited the room with a wave.

The door shut softly behind her, leaving Kaito and Miku to exchange puzzled gazes before continuing their pleasant conversation.

* * *

 **A/N: Does this qualify as a happy chapter? I really hope so, because I wanted to write a nice, happy scene between these three (especially since we've never had any interaction between Miku and Meiko before), but it's kind of hard to turn a hospital visit into a fun time. Anyway, the updates for this story are looking a little more consistent now, but I don't want to say I have a schedule because I know I'd end up ignoring it eventually. You can probably expect another chapter to be posted sometime around the end of this month (I think I posted three chapters last month, and that sounds like a reasonable number).**

 **As always, please tell me what you think of this chapter or the story so far, and have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"It's getting pretty late, shouldn't you be heading home already?" Rin pointed out.

It had been a few hours since IA had come over to work on their project, and there wasn't much to show for it. They had hardly gotten anything done because of Rin's constant complaints and refusal to cooperate, and now Rin was just looking for any reason to end this torture.

"I still have another hour or so before my parents come to get me," IA replied simply.

Rin groaned and looked back over at the clock. It was a little past six o' clock in the evening, the time when Rin would normally start fixing dinner. Her stomach was already beginning to rumble impatiently.

"Well, I'm hungry, so I'm going to make dinner now," Rin stated as she got up from the couch and stretched a bit.

IA looked at her curiously. "Why don't you just wait for your parents to get home?"

"What? No way. If I did that, I wouldn't be able to eat until like ten o' clock," Rin responded in a slightly incredulous tone.

She walked off toward the kitchen, rolled up the sleeves of her jacket, and washed her hands at the sink in preparation for cooking. Rin mentally went through all of the possible things she could make given the food that was in the house, before picking something she hadn't had in a while. It didn't take long to gather the ingredients since there weren't that many, and Rin got to work on the dish. She was a little out of practice when it came to this dish in particular, but it somehow felt nice making it again after so long. It brought a sense of familiarity to her, since she had made it quite often at one point in her life.

"I didn't know you knew how to cook," IA commented from her place in the doorway to the kitchen.

Rin didn't look up from what she was doing as she replied with, "Well, I never told you, so of course you didn't know."

IA gave a thoughtful hum and was silent for a moment. She looked as if there was something she wanted to say, but changed her mind at the last second.

"So, what are you making?" IA asked, beginning to walk over to where Rin was.

"None of your business. And don't come over here, I don't need help," Rin answered, sending IA a pointed look that caused the pink-haired girl to pause in her tracks. "Why don't you just go back to working on the project? That's the whole reason you're here, right?"

"Right..." IA muttered in response.

She lingered for another moment, then turned and walked back to the living room. Rin sighed as she returned to tending to the pot in front of her. Cooking was the one thing that brought her some peace of mind these days, and she didn't need IA to intrude on that. It was bad enough that IA continuously touched upon a personal subject with that stupid project of hers. So what if it was for school? Nothing they did or didn't do would even matter in a year. It certainly wasn't worth an invasion of Rin's privacy... or her home.

After about twenty more minutes of cooking, the meal was finished, and Rin went over to one of the kitchen's multiple cabinets. She reached up and grabbed a plate from the cabinet, before her hand hovered over a second plate hesitantly. Rin did nothing but stare up at the stack of plates for a minute, thinking it strange how easily she had made to grab another. She supposed it was just another thing that came with making that dish. In her mind, her memories, it was always linked with company. Rin shook her head to clear her mind and grabbed the second plate, heading back over to the stove to dish up the meal. Once both plates were filled with food, Rin picked them up (along with some silverware) and carried them with her into the living room.

"Food's ready, so you can stop working on that now," Rin announced as she entered the room.

IA looked up from the notebook she had been writing in and blinked in mild surprise. Rin held out one of the plates to her, which IA accepted gratefully.

"Thank you," IA thanked Rin in her usual plain tone while looking down at the food before her.

Rin huffed indifferently, plopping down onto the couch beside IA and offering the pink-haired girl some silverware. "There's no reason to thank me. I made enough for two people anyway, so I figured I'd give you some. I don't like wasting food."

IA smiled softly and took the silverware from Rin's hand. "If you really don't like wasting food, then you must've made so much intentionally. The fact that you thought of me is what I was thanking you for."

Rin made a sort of spluttering sound, trying to put on what she hoped was an irritated expression. "You wish! It was just an honest mistake, that's all! So I made a little more food than I thought, that's no big deal!"

"If you say so," IA chuckled quietly. She took her first bite of the meal Rin had made, and immediately her eyes widened from the taste. "Rin..."

"Yeah...?" Rin raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. She couldn't help feeling a little nervous having someone try her cooking for the first time.

"This is really, really good. How did you learn how to cook like this?" IA inquired, looking amazed.

Amazed. That was new. Rin would have to remember to add that look to the (short) list of IA's expressions.

"Um, I guess I just picked it up a few years ago. Ever since my mom started working late, I've been left to cook for myself. It's not so bad, really, but I suppose it was a little lonely at first..." Rin trailed off, instantly regretting those last few words. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

IA hummed thoughtfully and ate another bite. "What about your dad? Where is he?"

"It's none of your business," Rin replied curtly, sending a glare towards the pink-haired girl.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it. Just thought I'd ask," IA said simply.

Silence enveloped the two as they ate their meal. Rin stared down at her plate, at the familiar combination of rice, chicken, and vegetables that formed the dish, and felt sullen all of a sudden. For some reason, she was beginning to think that telling IA about some things wouldn't be too bad. Maybe she was just getting desperate to talk to someone again.

"...He left," Rin started quietly.

IA looked over at her in puzzlement. "Huh?"

"My father, he left when I was little. Apparently, he and my mom got into this big fight about something, and he just got up and left. My mom still has no clue where he went, but I couldn't care less. I was too young to even remember him," Rin continued a bit tentatively. Though, she soon grew very self-conscious and changed the subject before IA even had a chance to say anything. "So, what about you? What's your family like?"

IA thought about this for a moment, then replied. "Well, my mom stays home to look after my little sister and I, and my dad works as a lawyer's assistant. Not the most interesting job in the world, but it makes a decent pay." IA paused momentarily to shrug breezily. "Since my little sister is only two years old, things are always kind of crazy at my house. I end up having to watch after her a lot when my parents are busy, but I don't really mind that much."

"Funny, I never pictured you as the 'big sisterly' type," Rin commented with a hint of amusement in her voice. The image of IA chasing after a toddler all day was almost comical.

IA smiled faintly. "Yeah, neither did I. I was always so sure that I was the one who needed to be taken care of..."

She trailed off and looked slightly troubled for a moment, but as soon as Rin blinked the expression was gone. IA's face had returned to being as plain and impassive as usual. Such a blank expression... was it even normal?

"Well, I'll go take care of the dishes now. You can work on the project or do whatever in the meantime," Rin stated as she picked up both of their now empty plates.

Rin carried the plates back to the kitchen and dropped them into the sink. She turned on the faucet, letting cool water run over her hands and the surface of the plates, when suddenly she felt the presence of another person standing beside her. Rin turned her head quickly to look at the person, and she couldn't help but feel a small twinge of disappointment at seeing IA. All of this, from the food to the feeling of someone standing beside her at the sink, made Rin honestly think for a moment that it was Miku with her right now. Foolish thoughts like those were what really left a dull, lingering ache in her chest.

"What are you doing?" Rin questioned, trying to ignore how a lump was forming in her throat.

"I'm helping you wash the dishes," IA answered matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious. "It's only right since you made dinner for me."

Rin wanted to protest, but she didn't trust her voice enough right now to speak, so she merely turned her gaze back to the sink wordlessly. For a few minutes, the only sounds that filled the kitchen were that of running water and the clinking of plates.

"You said earlier that cooking by yourself was lonely at first, but what made it not lonely anymore?" IA asked, breaking the silence.

"I suppose I just got used to it after a while," Rin replied after a moment. Trying to keep her voice steady ended up coming out as surprising calmness.

"Even if you got used to it, it wouldn't change the fact that cooking by yourself was lonely. So, there must've been something else," IA pointed out. She paused to think for a moment (or maybe she was hesitating?), before she continued with, "Was there someone else with you at one point?"

Rin's eyes widened slightly, and she nearly dropped the plate she was holding at this. Of course IA just had to ask about that, of freaking course. IA always found the most sensitive topics to bring up, didn't she?

"N-No," Rin started to reply, but her voice shook, so she stopped to clear her throat and tried again. "No, there wasn't anyone. It's always been just me. Like I said, I must've just gotten used to it."

IA made a low sound as if she didn't quite believe Rin but wasn't willing to push her any farther. Instead, she merely helped Rin finish up the dishes in silence, then they returned to the living room to work on their project some more.

"Hey, IA?" Rin started while taking a seat on one of the chairs in the living room.

IA looked up at her with a slightly curious expression. "What is it?"

Rin opened her mouth to say something, then shut it and veered her gaze to look at the wall. Her cheeks were tinted a light red, as if she was embarrassed about something.

"Nevermind..." Rin muttered.

IA blinked confusedly, then she shook her head and smiled softly. Whatever Rin was going to say, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Enough had already been said to embed an undeniable underlying layer of trust between the two.

* * *

 **A/N: I just wanted some cute Rin and IA bonding moments, is that too much to ask? Seriously, I love these two so much it's not even funny. While the whole "Rin getting pissed off at IA and resulting in some sort of comedy" thing is great and all, I think there has to be at least one moment like this where Rin actually acts like she doesn't hate IA's guts. So, I wrote this and felt that I had achieved that goal. Anyway, I meant to post this yesterday, but I kind of forgot. Oops. As always, please tell me what you think of this chapter and the story so far, the feedback is greatly appreciated!**

 **Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Meiko stood outside of the door one of the hospital's staff members had directed her to. A bit tentatively, she raised her hand and knocked three times on the surface of the door before opening it.

"SeeU? Are you here?" Meiko asked with a hint of hesitance, poking her head inside the room to look around.

It was a tidy little office space with different charts and papers hung up on the walls. The room smelled of medicine and antibacterial cleaning products, just like any other doctor's office. It made Meiko nervous to be here, but the sight of that familiar long, wavy blonde hair was enough to keep Meiko from turning and running away.

"Meiko? What are you doing here?" SeeU questioned confusedly. She looked surprised.

"I, um, wanted to talk to you. Is it alright if I come in?" Meiko replied.

SeeU nodded slowly, still with a puzzled expression on her face. "Sure, come in and have a seat."

Meiko closed the door quietly behind her then walked over to a chair that was opposite to where SeeU was sitting. Once Meiko sat down, she looked over at her blonde-haired companion, who was staring back at her curiously.

"SeeU, I'm sorry for what I said to you that day at the cafe. I was just... I didn't know how to react to that kind of news, so I lashed out at you without thinking. I really am sorry..." Meiko trailed off, feeling ashamed.

SeeU smiled softly. "It's okay, Meiko. I figured that was probably it. Everyone reacts to bad news differently, and I've seen people get mad and try to blame whoever they can countless times. It's never personal, that's just how it is."

"You're surprisingly understanding about all of this," Meiko said in mild surprise.

"Well, you have to be, in this line of work," SeeU responded while still smiling.

"Aren't you a pediatrician, though? I wouldn't think you had to deliver terrible news like this that often," Meiko pointed out.

At this, SeeU's expression turned a little sullen. "Adults aren't the only ones that die, you know."

A heavy silence filled the room after that. Now that Meiko thought about it, Miku was still just a kid herself. She was only sixteen years old, only fifteen when she was first admitted here. Miku's life was going to end before she got the chance to really live it. Her future had been stolen long ago and was never to be seen again. It seemed like such a despicable crime when Meiko thought of it that way.

"SeeU, if you don't mind me asking, why would you take this kind of job when you know that not everyone can be saved?" Meiko questioned.

"Hmm... well, I don't think I ever intended to save anyone. Sure, it'd be great if everyone could survive and return to the way their lives used to be, but that just isn't realistic. I realized this during my time at the doctor's school I went to. I was studying all these different ailments and diseases and terms for things that didn't even make sense, all while I was thinking 'how am I supposed to cure all this?' And that's just it, I can't. Once I realized this, I figured that since I can't fix everything, I might as well try my best to make people happy. Seeing a family's face light up as they learn that their child no longer needs treatment, hearing a kid laugh for the first time since they entered the hospital, that's why I took this kind of job. I want to fix people's smiles, even if I can't fix their bodies," SeeU explained.

Meiko wasn't sure what to say to this. The cheerful, childish SeeU wasn't so childish after all. Meiko wondered when SeeU had grown to be so insightful, but dismissed the thought. She was glad that SeeU was able to smile amongst the cloud of despair and agony that hung over the hospital as a result of the patients' misfortune. Truly, SeeU was meant for this career.

"So, how good are you at fixing people's smiles?" Meiko asked slowly after a moment of silence.

"Um, I suppose it depends on the type of person I'm working with and what kind of situation they're in... Why do you ask?" SeeU inquired.

"No reason. Just wondering if it's still possible to fix Kaito... and myself," Meiko replied quietly.

SeeU smiled at her warmly. "I think it's more than possible, Meiko. In fact, I'm positive that I can get both of you to smile and laugh if we hang out together this weekend."

Meiko chuckled softly. "I would really like that."

"Wait, no, the weekend is way too far away! Tonight, the three of us will all go out together, and I won't let either of you go home until I see genuine smiles from both of you," SeeU announced.

"Sounds good to me. I didn't have any other plans anyway," Meiko stated, already beginning to smile.

SeeU grinned. "Great! You two better be ready by seven o' clock, and no later. I'll drag you out of the house even if you aren't fully dressed otherwise."

Meiko shook her head, letting out another low chuckle. "Please don't do that again. The last time that happened you nearly gave me a heartattack."

SeeU giggled. "Hey, at least it made sure you were always ready on time after that." She then stood up from her seat and gathered a few things from the counter against the far wall. "I have to get back to work now, so I'll see you later, Meiko."

"Yeah, see you later," Meiko responded, following SeeU out the door.

The two went off in opposite directions, with Meiko heading back to Miku's room to see if Kaito was still there. As she approached the door, though, she heard laughter coming from the room. Meiko smiled to herself, oh how she had missed that laugh. It seemed like ages since she had heard Kaito laugh like that. _I think I'll just let them be,_ Meiko thought to herself before turning around and heading to the lobby. She could always talk to Kaito later, so she was going to let the siblings spend their remaining time together the way it was meant to be: happily.

* * *

 **A/N: Not sure what to say here honestly. Not a lot happened in this chapter, but Meiko and SeeU finally made up, so that's good. Right now things seem to be kind of cheerful (maybe?) in this story. I wonder how long that's going to last... Anyway, please tell me what you think, I really appreciate it.**

 **Have a wonderful day/night/whatever~**


End file.
